In November 2024, the Bhilai Steel Plant, a major unit of the Steel Authority of India Limited, achieved outstanding production results, setting new records across various key parameters. This significant performance reflects the plant’s continued focus on operational excellence, efficiency, and safety. The growth spanned several important areas, including raw material handling, steel production, product dispatch, and overall operational efficiency. The plant surpassed its previous records in lime production, sinter output, hot metal production, and finished products, contributing to the ongoing development of India's steel industry.
Among the most remarkable achievements was the record ore handling at BSP's ore-handling plant, where a total of 18,38,864 tonnes of material were processed in November 2024. This represents a substantial increase from the previous record of 16,59,941 tonnes set in November 2022. Furthermore, the production of lime and CD at RMP-3 reached 53,390 tonnes, surpassing the earlier record of 45,848 tonnes achieved in November 2023. These gains reflect improved operational efficiency in raw material processing, which is essential for sustaining high production levels.
In the sinter production sector, BSP saw impressive results from its Sinter Plants. The plant achieved a total sinter production of 7,51,180 tonnes, surpassing the previous record of 7,30,375 tonnes in November 2022. Additionally, Sinter Plant-3 produced 5,22,644 tonnes, exceeding the earlier record of 4,89,681 tonnes. These achievements are crucial for the plant, as sinter is a key input in the blast furnace process, and increased production ensures a steady supply of material for steelmaking.
Steel production at Bhilai also reached new heights. Steel Melting Shop-3 (SMS-3) produced 3,00,840 tonnes of cast steel, exceeding its earlier record of 2,86,195 tonnes set in November 2022. Similarly, Blast Furnace-8 achieved 2,43,130 tonnes of hot metal, surpassing the previous record of 2,39,826 tonnes made in November 2022. These gains in steel production highlight the plant's ability to meet growing demand while improving the efficiency of its blast furnaces and steelmaking operations.
The Bar and Rod Mill also made history with an all-time high production of 84,030 tonnes in November 2024, breaking the previous record of 82,017 tonnes set in November 2023. The Plate Mill achieved a remarkable output of 33,966 tonnes of high-tensile plates, far surpassing its previous best of 17,374 tonnes in November 2014. This significant improvement is indicative of the plant’s growing capacity to produce advanced steel products, which are in high demand in various industries such as construction, infrastructure, and automotive.
In addition to these production milestones, BSP's overall steel output also set new records. The plant produced 4,28,350 tonnes of saleable steel, surpassing its previous record of 4,08,766 tonnes set in November 2023. The total production of finished plates reached 3,88,240 tonnes, beating the earlier record of 3,81,939 tonnes set in the previous year. These figures reflect BSP's commitment to meeting both domestic and international demand for high-quality steel products.
One of the standout achievements of November 2024 was the plant’s performance in product dispatch. BSP achieved a record 1,02,900 tonnes in prime rail loading, surpassing the previous record of 92,698 tonnes set in November 2022. Additionally, direct dispatch loading reached 2,33,584 tonnes, surpassing the earlier record of 2,17,018 tonnes in November 2020. The plant also achieved 4,21,859 tonnes of saleable steel loading, breaking its previous record of 4,19,358 tonnes from November 2023. These improvements in dispatch efficiency are vital for maintaining a smooth supply chain and meeting the needs of customers both in India and abroad.
A significant techno-economic achievement for the Bhilai Steel Plant in November 2024 was the record coke rate. The plant's blast furnaces achieved a coke rate of 424 kg per tonne of hot metal, which is a notable improvement over the previous best of 433 kg per tonne recorded in November 2021. This reduced coke consumption indicates greater efficiency in blast furnace operations, lowering costs and environmental impact while increasing overall productivity.
