Bhubaneswar, Jan 15 (IANS) Two public sector companies, the National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco) and Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IREL), have signed a pact to set up a titanium plant at an estimated cost of Rs.400 crore in Orissa’s Ganjam district, a statement said Saturday.
The companies will set up the project at Chhatrapur, about 157 km from Bhubaneswar, to make value-added products from beach sand minerals, which would subsequently be used for making titanium and allied products, the statement by Nalco said.
Titanium has a strategic importance for the country and is a key material used in space, aviation, nuclear, automobile, and paint industries, it said.
There being no production of the mineral in the country, the need is met by imports. On the other hand, beach sand – the basic raw material for production of titanium – is available in huge quantities with IREL and is exported without value-addition, it said.
The development of these value-added products will be an important step towards import substitute for the country, the statement said.
