MINING

• MALCO & BALCO has own captive bauxite mines

• Overburden is excavated by a combination of shovel or excavator or dumper
• Ore is drilled and blasted
• Blasted ore is subject to sorting to upgrade the “Run of Grade” to “Plant Feed
Grade”
• Sorting is carried out at the mine face and rejects back filled concurrently
• Sorted ore is trucked to Mettur Dam Complex and Korba Complex.
 REFINING

o Bayer’s process is used to obtain alumina from bauxite

o Bauxite is crushed, ground and digested in caustic soda at high pressure
and temperature
o Resultant liquour containing solution of sodium aluminate and
undissolved bauxite residues (iron,silicon,titanium)
o Residue thus obtained called “Red Mud” which is setteled to the bottom of
the tank are filtered and removed
o Alumina Liquour is pumped into huge tanks called precipitators
o Fine particles of alumina are added to seed the precipitation of pure
alumina
o Concentrated solid particles are removed, filtered and washed through a
rotary or a fluidized calciner
o Pure alumina in the form of white powder is obtained
 SMELTING

o Vertical Sturd Soderburg (VSS) technology ios used to produce aluminum

from alumina
o Alumina is dissolved in an electrolytic bath of molten cryolite (Sodium
Aluminium Fluoride)
o Electric current at low voltage but high current is passed through the
electrolyte
o Electric current flows between the carbon anode (positive) and
cathode(negative)
o Molten aluminium is deposited at the bottom of the pot that is siphoned
off periodically
FABRICATION

Fabrication shop include all finished product areas i.e.,

1. FOUNDRY SHOP

It receives hot aluminum metal from smelter and the same is converted into semi-finished
products i.e., casted slabs used in profile and tube shop and sheet rolling shop.

Aluminium pigs and Properzi rods are prepared here.

2. PROFILE AND TUBE SHOP

Finished consumer products like angles,channels,irregular tailor made sections are made
by Extrusion. There are three Extrusion processes 800T,1250T,3150T installed in this
shop.

3. SHEET ROLLING SHOP

All kinds of roll products are made in this shop. The treated ingots are rolled in the hot
rolling mill to reduce required size of coils/sheets. After annealing these are further
reduced in its final gauge by cold rolling process.
 COMPETITIVE POSITION

MAJOR PLAYERS:

• HINDALCO:

HINDALCO is India's leading integrated aluminum company. It is

primarily involves in the manufacture of primary aluminium as
Ingots,Billets,Rolling ingots and Redraw Rods, rolled products, extrusions,
foils. The company is manufacturing units are located at Renukoot (U.P.)
and Silvassa (Dadra and Nagarhaveli). Hindalco, in addition to being the
top private sector player in the aluminium industry also has the
distinctions of being one of the lowest cost manufacturers of primary
aluminium globally. The company owns captive Bauxite reserves and
down stream production facilities. The company's aluminium smelter
capacity is 2.42lakhs TPA and that rolled aluminium products is
80,000TPA.

• NALCO:

The state owned company ranks second in the manufacture of

primary aluminium in India. The PSU company, which is vertically
integrated, has the distinction of being one of the lowest cost producers of
primary aluminium worldwide. NALCO is also one of the largest
exporters of Alumina. The company has commenced an Rs.37 billion-
expansion project in order to increase its aluminium and Alumina
production capacity by 50% and 100% respectively. The company also
announced plans to foray into the manufacture of the value added
products. For this purpose, the company established an aluminium wheel
facility and took over international aluminium product limited that is
involved in the production of cold rolled products. Nalco’s bauxite reserves
at Damanjodi have a production capacity of 2.4 million TPA.

• INDAL:

It is now a part of A V Birla group. Indal is involved in the

production of Alumina in the forms of Sheets, foils and extrusions. A
company, which was established as Aluminium Production Company in
1938, started the countries first sheet rolling mill at Belur (West Bengal).
The company, which owns a nationwide network of facilities, mines and
marketing officers, is the marketing officers, is the market leader in the
manufacture of Alumina chemicals, Alumina sheets, foils and extruded
products in India. Indal, which has Assets to world-class technology and
expertise, has been a pioneer in adopting various application of aluminium
in India as well as Exo friendly concept such as aluminium scrap recycling.
The company's bauxite mines are located at Pune and Lohardaga;
smelters at Belgam, Hirakud and Alukrum; sheet production facility at
Mumbai and Kolkatta;a lambitude facility in Goa;a foil manufacturing
unit in Mumbai and two extrusion facility in Balasore and Alupuram. The
company's annual production capacity of aluminium and down stream
products is 43,000 tonnes. The company, a market leader in the
manufacture of rolled aluminium products has a capacity of 90,000 TPA.

• BALCO:

As a result of disinvestment by the government to the extent of 51%

of its stake in the company in favor of Sterlite industries. BALCO is now a
part of Sterlite industries. BALCO owns two manufacture plants- an
integrated aluminium complex located at Korba, C.G and the second in
West Bengal at Bidhanbag, equipped to manufactures only down stream
products. As a vertically integrated company, BALCO also has the
distinction and supplying special aluminium alloy for application in the
nations intermediate range ballistic missile Agni and surface missile
Prithvi. The company produces 40,000 TPA of rolled aluminium products.

• JINDAL ALUMINIUM LIMITED

It is one of the leading players in the private sector, owns a

manufacturing facility in Bangalore city. The company has the distinction
of being the first Extrusion company in India having four-Extrusion
process under one roof currently; it is the leader in aluminium extrusion
segment in India.