Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys (IMFA) is planning to invest around ₹4,000 crore to nearly double output, expand captive mining, raise renewable energy usage and diversify into ethanol and critical minerals, Managing Director Subhrakant Panda told Financial Express in an interaction.
The investment plan comes as rising domestic stainless steel demand is expected to alter IMFA’s sales mix, with the company looking to increase local sales even as exports remain a key market.
Panda said IMFA has already invested close to ₹2,000 crore, including around ₹1,000 crore in greenfield expansion and mining projects, ₹700 crore for acquiring Tata Steel’s Kalinganagar ferro chrome facility and nearly ₹150 crore for its ethanol project.
The company plans to invest another ₹1,500-2,000 crore over the next two to three years, mainly towards ferro chrome capacity expansion, higher mining output, an additional furnace at the acquired Kalinganagar facility and renewable energy infrastructure.
Upgrading Smelting Capacity
“From the current 260,000 tonnes of ferro chrome output, we will go up to more than 500,000 tonnes of output,” Panda said.
IMFA expects production to rise to around 400,000 tonnes in FY27 before crossing 500,000 tonnes in FY28, supported by the acquired 100,000 TPA Kalinganagar ferro chrome facility and its ongoing greenfield expansion project in Odisha. After commissioning, total installed ferro chrome capacity is expected to exceed 5.3 lakh TPA.
To secure raw material for the higher smelting capacity, IMFA is scaling up captive chrome ore mining. The company raised a record 8.10 lakh tonnes of chrome ore in FY26, including 5.36 lakh tonnes from underground mines. It is now targeting one million tonnes of captive chrome ore production in FY27.
At present, more than 90% of IMFA’s ferro chrome production is exported, mainly to Far East markets. As capacity expands, exports are expected to account for around 60% of production, with domestic stainless steel demand driving higher local sales.
Decarbonization Targets
The company is also increasing renewable energy sourcing to reduce costs and emissions. IMFA has signed a 70 MW hybrid renewable energy agreement with JSW Energy and has a binding arrangement for another 65 MW of hybrid renewable capacity.
“By next year, about 40% of our energy consumption will come from renewable sources,” Panda said.
Beyond ferro chrome, IMFA is progressing its 120 KLD grain-based ethanol project in Odisha and evaluating opportunities in critical minerals.
“We would like to get into critical minerals not just in the mining phase, but also in value-added processing. Hopefully, over the next year we will make a breakthrough in certain critical minerals,” Panda said.
For FY26, IMFA reported revenue of ₹2,826.31 crore and profit after tax of ₹424.36 crore.
Panda said the company’s exposure to ongoing West Asia tensions remains limited, as most exports go to Far East markets, though higher oil prices have raised freight and logistics costs.