Integrated Steel Plants
TISCO
- The Tata Iron and Steel plant lies very close to the Mumbai-Kolkata railway line and about 240 km away from Kolkata, which is the nearest port for the export of steel.
- The rivers Subarnarekha and Kharkai provide water to the plant. The iron ore for the plant is obtained from Noamundi and Badam Pahar and coal is brought from Joda mines in Odisha.
- Coking coal comes from Jharia and west Bokaro coalfields.
IISCO
- The Indian Iron and Steel Company (IISCO) set up its first factory at Hirapur and later on another at Kulti. In 1937, the Steel corporation of Bengal was constituted in association with IISCO and set up another iron and steel producing unit at Burnpur (West Bengal).
- All the three plants under IISCO are located very close to Damodar valley coal fields (Raniganj, Jharia, and Ramgarh). Iron ore comes from Singhbhum in Jharkhand.
- Water is obtained from the Barakar River, a tributary of the Damodar.
- All the plants are located along the Kolkata- Asansol railway line. Unfortunately, steel production from IISCO fell considerably in 1972-73 and the plants were taken over by the government.
VISVESVARAIYA IRON AND STEEL WORKS LTD. (VISL)
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The Visvesvaraiya Iron and Steel Works was initially called the Mysore Iron and Steel Works. It is located close to an iron ore producing area of Kemangundi in the Bababudan hills. Limestone and manganese are also locally available. But this region has no coal.
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At the beginning, charcoal obtained by burning wood from nearby forests was used as fuel till 1951. Afterwards, electric furnaces were installed which use hydroelectricity from the Jog Falls hydel power project.
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The Bhadravati river supplies water to the plant. This plant produces specialized steels and alloys.