EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF DRAFT EIA

Of

KASIA IRON AND DOLOMITE MINE

Area of the mine: 194.196 Ha
Kasia Village, Barbil Tehsil, Champua Sub Division,
Keonjhar District, Orissa

FFoorr

ENHANCEMENT OF IRON ORE PRODUCTION

FROM 3.6 TO 7.5 MTPA (RoM)
&
PROPOSED 0.7 MTPA
IRON ORE BENEFICIATION PLANT

By

ESSEL MINING AND INDUSTRIES LTD.

AN ISO 9001, ISO 14001 & OHSAS 18001
CERITIFIED COMPANY

(March 2008-May 2008)

Prepared By

< B.S. ENVI-TECH (P) LTD.,

Hyderabad – 500 057
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Essel Mining & Industries Ltd. (EMIL), a company of Aditya Birla

Group is operating KASIA IRON AND DOLOMITE MINES (KIDM)
spreading over an area of 194.196 ha at Kasia Village, Barbil Tehsil,
Champua Sub Division, Keonjhar District, Orissa

1.2 PROJECT DETAILS

EMIL proposes to expand the production capacity of the mine at a

project cost of Rs 117.251 crores. The expansion proposal comprises
the following:

1. Enhancement of Iron ore production from 3.6 to 7.5 MTPA (RoM)

2. Installation of Beneficiation Plant alongwith Tailing Pond within the
leasehold having production (concentrated) quantity of 0.7 MTPA.

Over the years of mining operation, about 6.5 million tonnes of

low-grade/off-grade material ((below 60% Fe) has been generated
and stored at existing dump -yards. Beside this off-grade material,
about 1.63 million tonnes of sub-grade material will be generated
during the planning period. In the process of mining in future, there is
a regular generation of sub -grade ore which is likely to
continue.
Keeping in view the large amount of off-grade material presently
available and future expansion strategies of the mine, EMIL proposed
to set up an iron ore beneficiation plant to utilize the low-grade
material to produce sinter feed fines. The sub-grade material will be
admixed suitably in the feed, and progressively replace more of off-
grade material to attain a reasonably acceptable grade of product
economically.

The proposed beneficiation plant is planned to be designed for a rated

capacity of 0.7 MTPA. This would enable the plant to treat 1.1 million
tons of low grade ore per annum (MTPA) to produce about 0.7 MTPA of
sinter feed materials.

1.3 PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

Sources of water supply for its operations:

Bore wells within the mining lease area
Water from Karo River through pipeline.
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 EMIL is presently using 118 m3/day for dust sprinkling at ore crusher
unit, Sprinkling at Mines (Water Tanker), Drinking water at mines and
Domestic use at colony. With the increase in production and
installation of beneficiation plant, the total water requirement
increases to 4000 m3/day.

EMIL has applied to IPICOL for surface water requirement of 4152.5

cum /day. IPICOL has approved 1.16 cusec i.e.2839.78 cum/day of
surface water against the above requirement in first phase.
The mine gets dedicated power supply from NESCO power Supply
Company through a 11 KV line. Power is mainly consumed by Screen
Plant, Lighting of Mine and Domestic purpose.

EMIL has employed about 437 persons for carrying out the mining.
Another 68 persons will be recruited under the expansion scheme.

Permanent pucca housing has been provided to the mine staff as staff
quarters and will be modified according to the requirement during the
expansion project.

1.4 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT STUDY

As part of Environmental Impact Assessment study, baseline

environmental monitoring was carried out for Summer season of 2008
covering the months of March ’08 - May ’08.
Summary of baseline studies

The predominant wind directions during the season were from SSE to
WSW sector accounting to 72.58 % of the time with calm winds of less
than 1.0 kmph for 3.75 % of the time.
 Ambient air quality assessed through a network of 8 ambient air
quality locations was found to be well within the limits of NAAQ
standards prescribed for Residential, Rural & Other Areas.

Air Quality in the study area

S.No Pollutant Range of values NAAQS Standard
For Residential areas
Core zone
1 SPM 269 500
2 RSPM 118 150
3 SO2 13.9 120
4 NOx 16.4 120
Buffer zone
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 1 SPM 146-178 200
2 RSPM 52-77 100
3 SO2 13.2-15.4 80
4 NOx 14.9-18.2 80
(All the values are in g/m3)

 Noise monitoring were selected in the core and buffer zones to assess
the noise levels
 Noise levels recorded in the buffer zone were found to be in the range
of 52.4 – 70.7 dB (A) during daytime and in the range of 41.8 – 52.4
dB (A) during nighttime.
 One surface water and Six ground water samples were collected from
in and around the mine site within 10 km radius. The parameters
thus analysed were compared with IS –10500. Surface water sample
collected from Karo River showed compliance of all parameters with
the drinking water standard of IS 10500 except slightly higher
Coliform count and turbidity.
 Seven samples were collected to asses the soil quality in the 10 km
study area of plant site and it revealed soil of medium fertile quality
 A study was undertaken to list out Flora & Fauna in the study area.

 The adjacent Reserve Forest and Protected Forest area are the habitat
of some endangered and threatened species, which are listed in the
Schedule I and II of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 as
amended in 1991. The survey recorded 9 species of Schedule I
animals of which 5 species belong to mammals, 3 species belong to
birds and 1 species to reptiles. Out of 16 species of Schedule II
animals recorded from this area, 10 species belong to mammals and 6
species belong to reptiles.
1.5 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MANAGEMENT PLAN
1.5.1 AIR ENVIRONMENT
The air borne particulate matter will be the main air pollutant
contributed by opencast mining.
The emissions from the mining operations and beneficiation plant are
quantified and cumulative ground level concentration for the
prevailing meteorological conditions were estimated using the
mathematical model.

Based on the process, the following are the areas identified in the
beneficiation plant which result in impact on air environment
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 Predicted value superimposed on the existing baseline value gives the
overall scenario which would prevail during summer season once
mine in operation for the proposed production rate. The following
table shows the overall scenario:

OVERALL SCENARIO (SUMMER SEASON ’08)

g/M3
CORE ZONE BUFFER ZONE
Baseline concentration 269 159
Predicted Concentration 200 <10
(max)
Overall scenario 469 169
STANDARD 500 200
(NAAQ – Industrial (NAAQ - Rural and
area ) Residential area

AIR POLLUTION CONTROL MEASURES

EMIL has taken up an integrated approach for control of dust from

various mining and related activities like ore extraction, processing
and vehicle operation.
Essel Mining had installed dedicated water sprinkling system to water
the haul roads which contributes a significant amount of fugitive dust
emissions because of vehicular movement during the dry periods.
Dust suppression is done at various points within the screening plant
by water sprinklers to reduce dust emissions.
Additionally, water sprinkling is done on the working faces, manual
sizing yards and the stacking areas by water tankers.

Further, EMIL has proposed to implement the following measures:

Enhancement of the existing dust suppression system that uses

high pressure jet nozzles and pumping facility to water the haul
roads and even cover the both sides of the haul roads, which
contributes a significant amount of fugitive dust emissions
because of vehicular movement during the dry periods.
Frequency of water sprinkling by high pressure, pumping facility
water tankers will be increased to keep the haul roads including
both sides of the haul roads, working surfaces and the stacking

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 dumps wet so that dust is not re-entrained by wind or other
disturbances;
Wet drilling arrangement will be provided in the Crawler Drills
and Jack Hammers to arrest the dispersion of dust when drilling
activity is in progress. EMIL also proposes to procure modern
drilling equipment like Hydraulic Drifters which have inbuilt wet
drilling arrangement, dust extraction, collection and disposal
system.

Appropriate Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) in the form of

Dust Masks will be provided as an interim measure to all workers
exposed to high dust levels. Workers will be trained to
understand the health impacts of inhaling high concentrations of
dust-laden air.
The HEMMs and the vehicular fleet used for hauling and
transportation of ore causes significant amount of gaseous
pollution from exhaust and also in way of re-entrainment of dust.
The vehicles and their engines will be regularly maintained to
ensure that they do not emit excessive pollutants by way of
exhaust emissions.
Since screening is the potential source of pollution therefore a drastic
measures were taken by the management. Every hopper of the screen
is having water-spraying system by application of water jet.
In addition dust encapsulation have been provided in the screens to
arrest dust considerably, quarterly monitoring is being conducted to
know the variation of the parameters.
1.5.2 NOISE POLLUTION CONTROL MEASURES

The major noise generating sources in the mine area are :

 heavy earth moving machinery,
 mining equipment and
 Operation of screening plant.
Reduction of noise level of the above equipments is difficult because of
unique nature of working conditions in a mechanized quarry
operations. However, EMIL is adopting the following mitigation
measures in the mine area to control noise pollution

 Proper and regular maintenance of vehicles, machinery and other

equipment. All HEMM are monitored for any abnormal sound and
rectified with due precaution by maintenance personnel.

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  Silencers and mufflers are provided in the exhausts of all equipment
and drilling rigs.
 Blasting is carried out only during day time and not on cloudy days.
Also the noise generated due to blasting lasts only for a few seconds.
 Controlled blasting is done regularly to reduce the Air over pressure
due to blasting.
 The high temperature time in the afternoon is selected for blasting
which will naturally reduce the noise pollution.
 Limiting time exposure of workers to excessive noise.
 The workers employed are provided with protection equipment,
earmuffs and ear-plugs, as a protection from the high noise level
generated at the plant site wherever required.
 Noise levels are also controlled by using optimum explosive charge,
proper delay detonators and proper stemming to prevent blow out of
holes as well as usage of the sequential blasting in combination with
non electric initiation systems.
 Speed of trucks entering or leaving the mine is limited to moderate
speed of 25 kmph to prevent undue noise from empty trucks.
 Planting of trees is being taken up along the mining lease boundary
for controlling noise apart from earmarking the limit of the mine pit
boundary.

1.5.3 WATER ENVIRONMENT

SURFACE WATER BODIES & CONTROL MEASURES
The area falls within the watershed area of the Karo River, which flows
in the NW to SE direction and situated about 6.8 km at NW of the
lease. Two Nalas flows near Tonto village originating from springs of
the hills of the Siddhamath Reserve forest and a dry seasonal nala
passes through the lease area and join the major nala before it meets
the Karo River.

The mine is well above the ground water table and in none of the
quarries water table has been intercepted. In the surrounding plains,
the depth of water table varies from 15 to 30 meter.
For pollution control measure a check dam has been made at the
western side of the North pit to protect the onrush material. A long
boulder wall of 75-meter length with a base thickness of 3-meter and
1-meter height has been constructed up to 2008-09. During the year

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2009 a proposal has been made by the management to construct the
check dam having length 232 meters
To understand the direct impact of mine runoff into the adjacent Nala
during monsoon water sample is being collected from the nala flows
adjacent to the mine lease area at the down stream.
In addition, EMIL proposes to take-up the following measures in
future course of mining to prevent the adverse impacts on Karo river.
 Dumps have been terraced. EMIL proposes to provide garland
drain all around the terraces following the down slope to ultimately
join the main garland drain to avoid gulleys & furrow formation.
 EMIL will construct gully plugs all along the flow path of seasonal
stream in the mine area joining Karo Nala.
 All the static dumps in the working pit area have been stabilized
and reclaimed.
 In order to control erosion from the dump yards and stack yards
located on the surface, EMIL propose to provide garland drains
with silt traps al around the dump yards . Boulder fencing will be
provided around the dump

GROUND WATER TABLE & CONTROL MEASURES

The ultimate depth of mining that the water table is occurring at a

depth of 432 m RL where as the mining is getting terminated at 383 m
RL which indicates that pit will encounter with water table. Keeping in
view of the interception of the ground water ground from 424 m RL
onwards, a detailed hydrogeological study has been carriedout. EMIL
will obtain permissions from CGWA, New Delhi for mining below the
water table level of 432 m.

WATER CONSUMPTION AND WASTEWATER GENERATION

EMIL is presently using about 118 m3/day of water for mining
operations including domestic use. The additional water requirement
due to increase of iron ore production and proposed beneficiation
plant is about 3882 m3/day. Thus the total water consumption in the
mine after expansion will be about 4000 m3/day.
WASTEWATER GENERATION

The wastewater generation from the above consumption is mainly

from the following two areas:
Workshop wastewater - 5 m3/day

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 Domestic wastewater - 82.4 m3/day

WASTE WATER MANAGEMENT AT MINES SITE

Open cast mining of the iron ore will not generate any waste water.
However, small quantities of domestic waste water and workshop
wastewater will be released from the mines site and the following
management plan is envisaged.
 A total of 5 m3/day of wastewater is envisaged from workshop. This
wastewater contains about 20 ppm of oil and grease is being
subjected to oil removal and the treated wastewater will be used for
green belt development. The existing wastewater treatment
capacities are adequate to handle the additional wastewater.

 Sewage generated i.e 82.4 m3/day from the colony is treated in the
septic tanks provided at respective residential buildings

1.5.4 LAND ENVIRONMENT

IMPACT ON LAND USE AND RECLAMATION MEASURES

Open cast mining activities may alter the landscape of the lease area
and also some disturbance to the surface features of the surrounding
areas.
EMIL’s Kasia iron and dolomite mines are located in an area of
194.196 ha. EMIL has explored only 41 % of the mining lease area.
The mine will be fully explored after obtaining necessary permissions.
The iron ore deposition confines to hill ridges and plateaus. Balance
area is being utilized for dumping, statutory buildings, greenbelt etc.
After winning the ore during the course of mining in different quarries,
part of the worked out area will be back filled and reclaimed &
afforested.
RECLAMATION PLAN AND POST MINING LANDUSE
Reclamation will be taken up in the broken up mineralized exhausted
area as per reclamation schedule. This area will be back filled by
waste material in a phased manner. Floor area will be fulfilled
partially. Sweet soil to be spread throughout waste filled area along
with fertilizer. The mentioned process should be completed before
start of monsoon. Pit digging should be started at shallow depth.
Choice of sapling should be such that canopies area should be more.
Species wise plantation should be done canapé area so that it should
give a soothing picture. Seedling of teak, Karanj, Chakunda, for good
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flavor, fruit bearing trees like strawberry, Mango, Guava can be
planted. Similarly Asan & Neem as medical & local Species Like
Piasal, Mahul can be planted. It should be faced & maintenance to be
done.
The ore body is persisting to a depth of 90 m from the present surface
level. After winning the ore during the course of mining in different
quarries, part of the worked out area will be back filled and reclaimed
& afforested. The following table shows the post mining land use
pattern of the mine area

POST MINING LANDUSE PATTERN OF THE MINE AREA

S.No. Land-use Category Area (Ha)
1 External waste dumps (total dump area will be covered 11.216
by plantation
2 Excavation area Backfilling area with plantation 52.81(+4.895
ha of tailing
pond area)
Water reservoir area 44.183
3 Mines Road to be used for avenue plantation 6.891
4 Built up area (Beneficiation Plant, Township & Magazine) 12.539
5 Tailing Pond Excavation 9.913
6 Storing of Minerals (Plantation on vacant area at the end 13.932
of life of mine)
7 Area under Safety Zone including reclaimed & 37.720
Afforestation.
8 Undisturbed tenant area 3.410
9 Area for Public Use 1.582
Total 194.196

IMPACT ON FOREST & CONSERVATION PLAN

South west part of the leasehold occupied by Siddhamath reserve
forest.
The project sites for iron ore mine covers an area of about 194 ha with
uneven terrain. Under the mine lease area undisturbed forestland is
173.039 ha. (103.148 ha RF and 69.891 ha. VF) and non-forestland is
21.157 ha.
The compensatory afforestation plan would be implemented by the
Forest Department and the Essel mining management will review the
progress of implementation of the envisaged tree planting activities at
the site demarcated for the purpose.
Of the total forest land of 173.039 ha, 145.130 ha will be utilized for
mining and allied activities.

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The following reserve forests are located within 10km radius of the
study area

Forest Distance
Sidhamath Reserve Forest Part of the Reserve Forest is within Mining
Lease area.
Thakurani Reserve Forest 2.0 km from Eastern Boundary of the ML Area
Baitarani Reserve Forest 5.5 Km from the south – East corner of the ML
area
Karo Reserve Forest 5.0 km North boundary of ML area
Uliburu Reserve Forest 7.0 km from the North Boundary of ML area
Karampada Reserve Forest 10.0 km from western Boundary of ML Area.

FOREST CONSERVATION PLAN

The total cost of the plan is estimated to be Rs.170.00 Lakhs out of
which Rs.91.00 Lakhs shall be placed with DFO, Keonjhar for taking
up activities within the ZoI and the rest Rs.79.00 Lakhs shall be
utilized by M/s.ESSEL Mining & Industries the lease area.
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

TOP SOIL MANAGEMENT

Insignificant quantity of topsoil and sub soil occurred in lateritic zone
will be generated during the plan period. The topsoil and sub soil will
be recovered and stacked in a predetermined place and used for land
reclamation as well as plantation.

WASTE MANAGEMENT

Conceptual generation (for the life of the mine) of waste including

overburden and inter-burden in the mine is around 35.06 million
tonnes. Part of the waste will be disposed to dumps and balance will
be backfilled.
Waste rock will be loaded into trucks for transportation to the waste
dumps earmarked over an area 16.291 (both existing and proposed
area) hectares.
At the end of each shift the spillage left over on the dump is cleared by
a front-end loader.
OB generated will be dumped in the demarcated area located inside
the leasehold. Both retaining wall and garland drain will be
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 constructed around the dumping yard to check wash off and gully
erosion. A series of settling pond will be provided adjacent to garland
drain from where clean water will be discharged outside the lease. The
dump height will be maintained at 10 meters with terraces and
ultimate dump slope angle will be maintained at 28o. Stage wise
dumping will be carried out. Terraces and berms will be maintained.
Spreading of topsoil with compost on the terraces after completion.
Afterward plantation will be carried out on the terraces and berms of
the dump. Dump stabilization and solid waste wash off protection has
been initiated on the part of the active dump. This part of north block
and south block has been covered with geo textile (nearly 1.88
hectares). Check dam and garland drains with settling pond have been
constructed around the dumping area to prevent direct flow of runoff.

BENEFICATION – TAILING GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT

About 0.462 MTPA of slurry will be discharged to tailing pond. Out of
0.462 MTPA, about 0.231 MTPA of tailings will be retained in the
tailing pond. Capacity of the tailing ponds (total) is about 2.0 million
tonnes. Therefore the life of tailing pond will be more than 8-9 years

Tailing pond will be constructed within leasehold covering an area of

9.913 hectare (exhausted dolomite pit). The process includes wet
method of beneficiation tailings leave the treatment plant as slurry
(tailing mixed with water).

Before the tailings are hydraulically transported to tailing pond for

impoundment, the water is recovered for recycling by a dewatering
process utilizing thickener. The tailing feed to the thickener is very
fine. Coagulant and coagulant aids are used to get clarified water of a
relatively better quality for circulation.

The tailings from the thickener underflow will be pumped to tailings

dam through pipeline. The approximate distance between the
beneficiation plant and the tailings dam is about 0.9 KM.

1.7 SOCIAL WELFARE MEASURES

BUDGET FOR SOCIAL WELFARE MEASURES

EMIL has spent about Rs 85 lakhs for implementing the various
social welfare measures during the year 2008-09. EMIL has proposed
to spent Rs 114.43 Lakhs for the year 2009-10 for implementing the
various measures like Electrification of Kasia Village, Drinking water
project for Tanto at Jhargoan,Bhusgoan, Kasia village, Ten seated sulabh
toilet & bath complex at Tanto, Barbil Municipality , School Boundary Wall
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 at Jhargaon village, Social Devt Projects (Health,Education Sustainable
livelihood, social cause at Kasia Ka, Kasia Kha ,Tanto, Bhusgaon, Jhargaon
villages , Village road side drain at Kasia Ka village, Deepening of Pond at
Kasia Ka, Double Storied school building at Bhusgaon and School Bus
Service at Kasia Ka & Kha villages.

1.8 POST PROJECT MONITORING

EMIL will incur a amount of Rs. 184 Lakhs for implementing the
environmental management plan for the expansion of the mine.

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