Page 8 - Steel Metallurgy eMagazine Volume April 2026

FACE TO FACE

BUILDING A GREENER,

LARGER STEEL GIANT

LR Singh, COO of JSW Vijayanagar, on iron ore security, low-grade beneficiation,
sustainable growth, and the ambition to reach 100 million tonnes.

NM : The Iron Ore Beneficiation LR Singh,
COO of JSW Vijayanagar
Summit is taking place at a critical
time for Indian steel. What are your key
takeaways, and how significant is this As India aims for 500 mil-
for JSW's future? committed to a 30% reduction in CO₂
lion tonnes by 2047, JSW's footprint by 2030 and full carbon
LRS : Thank you for being here and ambition is to reach 100 mil- neutrality by 2050.
participating — your presence makes lion — and to grow responsi-
this conference truly rich. India is bly every step of the way NM : What is the current status of
targeting 300 million tonnes of steel JSW's captive mines, and how much
capacity by 2030, and iron ore remains is allocated for merchant sales versus
a scarce commodity. The challenge is captive consumption?
that ore grades are declining; we are
increasingly dealing with highly siliceous LRS : This is a very important question
iron ore. This conference brings together for us. In Karnataka, our captive mine
researchers, technologists, industry Looking further ahead, as India aims for capacity currently stands at around 9
leaders, and academia from across 500 million tonnes by 2047 — the year million tonnes. We are in the process
India and globally to develop innovative we envision a fully developed nation. of expanding this to 11 million tonnes
processes and technologies for low-grade Our Chairman Shri Sajjan Jindal always by increasing production under MPAP
ores — material where iron content emphasizes that Indian companies must limits. We have recently acquired an
can be below 35%, including bonded be aggressive and growth-oriented to additional 4 million tonnes — currently
hematite, bonded magnetite. succeed in the modern global economy, under discussion — which will bring
a trait he describes as the "DNA of JSW". total Karnataka capacity to 16 million
The Sandur–Hospet–Bellary belt, where Following this JSW's ambition is to tonnes. When the Vijayanagar plant
our Vijayanagar Steel Works is located, scale to 100 million tonnes, consistent ultimately reaches 24 million tonnes of
holds large deposits of exactly this kind with our historic 20% share of national steel production, that 16 million tonnes
of low-grade resource. The conference production. Growing responsibly is non- will represent roughly 25% of our captive
helps us to evaluate the latest technology negotiable: we are already one of India's iron ore requirement.
options, their cost-benefit profiles, and largest steel exporters, accounting for
waste utilisation strategies. It is an ideal 18–20% of exports. CBAM compliance As a matter of policy, we do not sell any
platform. is therefore very real for us. We have iron ore from our Karnataka captive

8 STEEL & METALLURGY APRIL 2026