Kalabagh is a small town situated in the west of Punjab province at the western bank of River Indus. It is known to every Pakistani for Kalabagh Dam planned by the government. But a very few people know that it is also famous for the biggest deposits of iron ores in Pakistan.
The known iron ore reserves in Pakistan are estimated at more that 400 million tons, containing a total of about 150 million tons of metallic iron. About 75 per cent of the total iron ore reserves are deposits of Kalabagh-Chichali-Makarwal region of the trans-Indus salt range.
For steel making from iron ore, the first product is steel grade pig iron which is produced from the blast furnace after processing the iron ore.
There are three basic raw materials, which are required for making pig iron, occur indigenously in Kalabagh region, are: iron ore, mineral coal and lime stone.
Kalabagh is not only known for its iron ores but it has good quality coal at Sharigh and Makarwal and also one of the best quality limestone in the world.
It also offers local as well as multinational investors to install mini blast furnaces (see figure below) to produce only steel grade pig iron—— an important and saleable item. It does not require big investment and is quite feasible for local business people.
Pig iron can be sold to steel Markets of Lahore, Gujranwala, Karachi and other cities where hundreds of arc furnaces are producing steel ingots/billets which are starting materials for rolling mills producing steel structures.
Such mini blast furnaces can also be installed near other big deposits (Hazara, Chaniot, Chaghi, DalBadeen) of Iron Ores in other part of the country.
