Sterlite Industries has completed taking 23 out of the 30 environment protection measures mandated by the Supreme Court for its copper smelter plant at Tuticorin, officials of the company told visiting journalists on Saturday.
The plant has come under focus lights after the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board had ordered it shut citing grounds of pollution, which was subsequently stayed by the Supreme Court on the condition that the company would undertake specific environment protection measures.
Most of the measures have been completed, and the rest would be put in place in the next few months, Mr P. Ramnath, CEO of the Tuticorin unit, said.
Corrective measures
The biggest and the most expensive of these measures is the ‘fugitive gas desuplhurisation system', which cost the company Rs 45 crore. A ‘bag house', to prevent dust emission, is also under way and would be completed by July. This project will cost Rs 35 crore.
A Rs 20-crore project for the replacement of electrostatic precipitators has also been completed. A reverse osmosis plant of a capacity of 1,600 kilolitres to recover, recycle and reuse the permeates has also been put up.
Expansion
The significance of these measures is that after their completion, the company's application for a capacity expansion project would move ahead. Sterlite is not able to work on getting the approvals for the 400-tonne copper production project because it would first like to get over with the issues relating to the existing plant before taking up the brownfield capacity expansion.
Meanwhile, the unit's 160-MW thermal power project is close to completion and could start generation by June. Generation from only 60 MW of this will be needed for self-use, the other 100 MW of capacity will generate power for sales to others. Sterlite is in negotiations with the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company for a power purchase agreement.
Further, sources in the company said that there is a good possibility of the company getting into a project to raise the level of iron in the slag that it produces, from around 35 per cent now to about 60 per cent.
No decision has been taken on this and as such no project details are available. However, the source said that the high iron silicate slag will be hotly sought after by the various steel plants.