Muthuraman: New horizons

Chennai, June 28: The Tatas will set up a Rs 2,500-crore titanium dioxide unit in Tamil Nadu. The company will make titanium dioxide from ilmenite mined from the beach sands of Tuticorin and Tirunelveli districts in south Tamil Nadu.

Tata Steel today inked an MoU with the state government for the project, nearly five years after it had inked a pact with the then AIADMK government.

The MoU was signed by Tata Steel managing director B. Muthuraman and Tamil Nadu industries secretary Shakthi Kanta Das in the presence of chief minister M. Karunanidhi and group chairman Ratan Tata. The original MoU was signed in 2002 but the project did not take off.

“This government (DMK) has been keen and helpful,” Muthuraman said.

“It is a significant project for Tata Steel in Tamil Nadu. The project will create considerable employment opportunities,” Tata said.

It will provide direct jobs to 1,000 people and indirectly employ 3,000 more. The land providers will be given priority in jobs. The project will be implemented over six years after the land is allocated. The techno-economic feasibility for the project has been completed and the technology route finalised, Muthuraman said.

It will have a capacity to mine 5 lakh tonnes of ilmenite and turn out one lakh tonnes of titanium dioxide per annum, which is used as a base for pigments in the paints industry. He said India was importing about 70,000 tonnes of titanium dioxide every year as there was only one manufacturer as of now.

“The project will serve India’s needs, besides helping in the development of Tamil Nadu. It will prove to be a boon to the local population especially in drought-prone areas where agriculture is not the main source of income.”

The land required for the project was estimated to be 10,000-12,000 acres.

“Ilmenite deposits are found on the surface of land at a depth of up to four to five metres. A large area was required for the project since for every 100 tonnes of sand mined for ilmenite, 90 tonnes of sand would be deposited back,” he said.