OREANDA-NEWS. The Minister of State for Steel and Mines, Shri Vishnu Deo Sai has said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on 04.04.2013 amongst SAIL and Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. (KSIDC) & Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd. (KMML) on behalf of Government of Kerala (GoK) to jointly explore possibilities of setting up a Titanium Sponge and Metal Complex in Kerala in Joint Venture in a phased manner.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today, Shri Vishnu Deo Sai said that a Joint Committee of SAIL and GoK, constituted to carry out a feasibility study of the technical and financial viability of the Titanium Sponge Project (10,000 Metric Tonne Per Annum Capacity), has completed the preliminary study based on a Techno Economic Feasibility Report (TEFR) prepared by MECON. According to the TEFR, the financial viability of the project depends upon the latest cost effective technology, which is still not available in India. Efforts to obtain transfer of technology from leading global supplies has not been very encouraging and further course of action is dependent upon availability of Titanium production technology.