Maarg Manthan · Topic 13.1

Iron and Steel Industry: Production Process, Location, Distribution, Global Production, International Trade

Geography › Industry · Topic 13.1

The iron and steel industry turns iron ore, coking coal and limestone into pig iron and then steel, and it is called the basic or backbone industry because machines, vehicles, bridges, rails and buildings depend on it. It is a weight-losing industry, so plants gather near coal, ore or a port. China makes more than half of the world's crude steel, and India is the second largest producer.

6 min read · UPSC Prelims · Geography · Industry

At a Glance

Raw materials Iron ore, coking coal, limestone, water
Process Blast furnace to pig iron to steel
Largest producer China, then India
Old regions Pittsburgh, Ruhr, Great Lakes, Ural
First Indian plant Jamshedpur, 1907
Exam link UPSC Prelims, Geography: Industry

Where Does It Fit?

This topic opens the macro on industry and takes the basic industry on which the others depend. It uses the ores and coal described in the macro on mineral and energy resources, and it leads to the engineering and automobile industries that consume steel. Previous topic: Renewable Energy: Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Tidal, Wave, Biomass, Hydrogen as a Fuel. Next topic: Textile Industry: Cotton, Woollen, Silk, Synthetic and Man-Made Fibre – Location, Trends, Distribution, Production.

How Is Steel Made?

Steel making has two main routes. The integrated route uses ore, and the scrap route uses recycled metal.

Charging: iron ore, coke (made from coking coal) and limestone, which acts as a flux, are loaded into a blast furnace. It takes about 1.6 tonnes of ore and about 0.7 tonne of coke or coking coal to make a tonne of pig iron, so the industry is called weight-losing.
Smelting: hot air blown from below burns the coke, and the carbon monoxide that results removes oxygen from the ore. Molten iron, called pig iron, collects at the bottom, and the limestone binds the impurities into slag.
Steelmaking: pig iron has too much carbon (about 4 per cent) and is brittle. In a basic oxygen furnace, oxygen is blown through it to burn off carbon and impurities. Alloy metals such as manganese, chromium and nickel are added for special steels, as described in Ferrous Metallic Minerals: Iron Ore, Manganese, Chromium, Nickel, Tungsten.
Electric route: an electric arc or induction furnace melts scrap or sponge iron (iron ore reduced by gas or coal without melting). Mini steel plants use this route and need less capital.
Finishing: molten steel is cast, mostly by continuous casting, and rolled into sheets, rails, bars, rods, wires and structural shapes.

What Decides Where a Steel Plant Is Located?

Factor	Role in location
Raw material	Ore, coking coal and limestone are heavy; plants sit on a coalfield, an ore field or midway between them
Transport	Cheap rail and water links lower the cost of assembling materials; coastal plants import ore or coal
Water	Large amounts are needed for cooling and processing, so rivers and lakes attract plants
Power	Coal-based power or gas for electric furnaces
Market	Finished steel is consumed in engineering, construction and vehicle centres
Capital and labour	Very high investment; skilled labour; government support in India and China

Historic plants arose on coalfields, such as Pittsburgh in the Appalachian coal area and the Ruhr in Germany, or on lake ports, such as Chicago-Gary, where Lake Superior ore met coal. Newer plants are often on the coast, near ports that bring imported ore and coal and send out steel, as at Kitakyushu and Chiba in Japan, Pohang in South Korea and Baoshan near Shanghai.

Where Is Steel Made in India?

Jamshedpur (Jharkhand): the first modern plant of India, set up by Tata in 1907 near the iron ore of Odisha and the coal of Jharia, with water from the Subarnarekha and Kharkai.
Burnpur-Kulti (West Bengal): an early plant, set up in 1918, beside the Raniganj coalfield.
Bhadravati (Karnataka): a charcoal-based plant set up in 1923 near the Bababudan ores.
Public sector plants: after independence, Bhilai (Chhattisgarh, with Soviet help), Rourkela (Odisha, with German help) and Durgapur (West Bengal, with British help) came up in the 1950s, and Bokaro (Jharkhand, Soviet) in the 1960s. Their management came under the Steel Authority of India Limited, formed in 1973.
Coastal plant: Visakhapatnam Steel Plant of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, called Vizag Steel, is the first coastal integrated plant, using imported coking coal and ore from Bailadila.
Private plants: JSW Steel at Vijayanagar (Karnataka), Tata Steel at Kalinganagar (Odisha), Jindal Steel at Angul (Odisha) and Raigarh, and Essar at Hazira (Gujarat) added capacity. Many small mills in Raipur, Durg and Ludhiana-Mandi Gobindgarh melt scrap.

Most Indian steel is made in the east and central belt of Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, where ore, coal and limestone are found within a few hundred kilometres.

What Is the Global Production and Trade Pattern?

Leaders: China makes over half of the world’s crude steel, about a billion tonnes a year. India is second with about 150 million tonnes, followed by Japan, the United States, Russia and South Korea. Figures change each year, so check the latest.
Shift: output has moved from old industrial regions of North America and Europe, where plants closed or shrank, to Asia, where demand from construction and manufacturing is high.
Trade: China, Japan, South Korea, India, Turkey and the European Union are major exporters. The United States and the European Union import large quantities of semi-finished and finished steel. Iron ore moves from Australia and Brazil to China, Japan and South Korea.
India: the National Steel Policy of 2017 set the aim of 300 million tonnes of capacity by 2030-31. India imports high-grade coking coal and exports some finished steel, and its trade balance shifts from year to year.
Challenges: shortage of good coking coal, carbon emissions (steel is among the largest industrial emitters), and competition from cheap imports.

Why Is This Topic Important?

Basic industry Feeds many others
Location Ore, coal, water, port
India Second largest producer

What Came Next?

The next topic describes the textile industry: cotton, woollen, silk and man-made fibres. Next topic: Textile Industry: Cotton, Woollen, Silk, Synthetic and Man-Made Fibre – Location, Trends, Distribution, Production.

Key People and Terms

Pig iron Crude iron from blast furnace
Flux Limestone that binds impurities
Slag Waste from smelting
Sponge iron Ore reduced without melting
Integrated plant Ore to finished steel at one site
Mini steel plant Scrap or sponge iron in electric furnace

Exam Corner

Points to Remember

Jamshedpur plant began in 1907.
Bhilai, Rourkela, Durgapur were set up with Soviet, German, British help.
Vizag is the first coastal integrated plant.
China produces over half the world’s steel.
SAIL was formed in 1973.

Do Not Confuse With

Pig iron and steel Pig iron is brittle with high carbon; steel has less carbon and is refined
Integrated and mini plant Ore-based versus scrap-based
Flux and fuel Limestone removes impurities; coke supplies heat and carbon monoxide

Memory Hook

Ore, coke and lime go in at the top: iron flows out at the bottom, and oxygen makes it steel.

Mains Angle

Questions ask why the steel industry is located where it is, and how its map has changed. These points add depth.

Shift From coalfields to coasts and Asia
India East-central belt and coastal Vizag
Environment Emissions and coking coal shortage

A Question You May Face

An original practice question, not a past paper question.

“Discuss the factors influencing the location of the iron and steel industry, and describe the distribution of steel plants in India.”

How to Answer

Process Blast furnace, steelmaking.
Factors Raw material, transport, water, market.
India Plants, regions, coast.
Trends China, shifts, issues.

GS Relevance

Prelims: steel process, location factors, Indian plants, leading producers. GS Paper 1 and 3: industrial location, resource base, trade.

Frequently Asked Questions

What raw materials are needed to make steel?

Steel making in an integrated plant needs iron ore, coking coal and limestone, along with large amounts of water. Ore supplies the iron, coke supplies heat and carbon monoxide to remove oxygen, and limestone works as a flux that binds impurities into slag. Alloy metals such as manganese are added for special steels.

Why is the iron and steel industry called a basic industry?

The iron and steel industry is called a basic or backbone industry because its products are the raw material for many other industries, such as machine making, automobiles, railways, shipbuilding, construction and defence. A country's industrial growth and infrastructure are therefore closely linked to the amount and quality of steel it makes.

Which was the first modern steel plant of India?

The first modern iron and steel plant of India was set up by Jamshedji Tata at Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, which began production in 1907. The site had iron ore from Odisha, coal from the Jharia fields and water from the Subarnarekha and Kharkai rivers, and the company became Tata Steel.

What is the difference between an integrated and a mini steel plant?

An integrated steel plant makes steel from raw iron ore, coking coal and limestone through a blast furnace and a steelmaking furnace at one site. A mini steel plant melts scrap or sponge iron in an electric arc or induction furnace, needs far less capital and usually serves local markets.

Which countries are the largest producers of steel?

China is the largest producer of crude steel, with more than half of the world total, followed by India, Japan, the United States, Russia and South Korea. India has been the second largest producer in recent years. Rankings and tonnages change every year, so students should check the latest data.

PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis

1 The iron and steel industry is a weight-losing industry.

True

Raw materials weigh more than the finished steel, so plants locate near materials.

2 Vizag Steel is an inland integrated plant of Chhattisgarh.

False

It is a coastal plant in Andhra Pradesh.

3 Limestone is added in a blast furnace as a flux.