NMDC Steel Limited (NSL), the demerged steel arm of NMDC, has reported its best-ever operational performance for November 2025, setting multiple records across its integrated plant at Nagarnar in Chhattisgarh. The Union Ministry of Steel highlighted the company’s “exceptional” month as a sign of rising process stability, operational discipline and higher capacity utilisation at India’s youngest integrated steel plant.
This achievement came in a climate where Indian steelmakers are increasingly facing the influx of cheap Chinese steel imports.
In raw material handling, NSL’s Raw Material Handling System (RMHS) tipped a record 616 wagons in a single day on November 21, and achieved its highest-ever monthly base mix production of 5,18,886 tonnes.
At the sinter plant, the company set new day and month records, producing 15,590 tonnes of sinter on November 30 and 4,14,271 tonnes during the month, operating at over 105 per cent of rated capacity.
NSL also produced a record 11,315 tonnes of hot metal in a single day on November 28 (equivalent to 119 per cent of its rated capacity) and 2,80,049 tonnes over the month, crossing 101 per cent capacity utilisation, official data revealed.
The plant also reported its lowest-ever monthly average fuel rate of 519kg per tonne of hot metal using only sinter and ore in the burden, a level the ministry described as “one of the best in the country”, along with its highest monthly average PCI (pulverised coal injection) rate of 164kg per tonne.
NSL also posted record output in downstream units. The Steel Melting Shop and Thin Slab Caster–Hot Strip Mill together delivered their highest monthly production so far: 2,03,356 tonnes of hot rolled (HR) coils, 2,09,445 tonnes of crude steel and 2,15,010 tonnes of liquid steel, with capacity utilisation exceeding 84 per cent, 85 per cent and 86 per cent, respectively.
CMD Amitava Mukherjee said the record‑breaking performance reflects the “dedication, discipline and determination” of the NSL team.
On the product side, two higher‑grade structural steels, IS 2062 E450BR and IS 2062 E350C, were successfully ramped up to commercial production, it said. These are used in construction, infrastructure and heavy engineering.
The company also improved cost efficiency by optimising its oxygen plant operations, saving about Rs 1.9 crore in power costs through operating in a single‑plant turndown mode during the month.
