New Delhi, Jun 22 (PTI) Union Steel Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will inaugurate a Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) project, which has been set up at a cost of Rs 149 crore in Chhattisgarh, on Friday.

The minister will virtually inaugurate the SAIL's Silica Reduction Plant located at the company's iron Dalli mines, the state-owned steel maker said in a statement on Thursday.

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"The iron ore reserves in the 60-year-old mines of SAIL-Bhilai Steel Plant's Dalli and Rajhara group are depleting rapidly and a study revealed there is a need to refine iron ore of size less than 1 mm to achieve the desired grade for effective usage in the blast furnace," the company said.

The plant set up with an investment of around Rs 149 crore is equipped with state-of-the-art beneficiation equipment and aims to enhance the iron ore supplied to Bhilai Steel Plant thereby increasing annual production from the blast furnaces, reducing coke consumption and carbon emission, it said.

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SAIL, under the Ministry of Steel, is one the largest steel-producing companies in India.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)