Towards self-sufficiency

In order to make India self sufficient in raw materials, a team of enterprising geologists was sent out to scour the surrounding hills for prospective sources. The area was found to be rich in deposits of iron ore, coking coal, limestone, dolomite, manganese, etc. The Steel Company obtained its first colliery in 1910, adding six more in course of time. Several mines were spread over the states of Bihar, Orissa and Karnataka. The Tatas soon became the first to own a fully mechanised iron ore mine in India at Noamundi. The Coal Beneficiation Plant at West Bokaro undertook beneficiation of low-grade coals, thus helping in the conservation of the fast dwindling resources of high quality coals. The collieries, the mines and the quarries- together furnish the bulk of the raw material requirements of the plant.