Tata Steel plans to acquire a 50.01% stake in Thriveni Pellets, which operates a sizeable iron ore pellet manufacturing facility in Odisha, India’s primary iron ore-producing state. This acquisition, turning Thriveni Pellets into a joint venture with Lloyds Metals & Energy, aims to strengthen Tata Steel’s supply chain for iron ore pellets essential to its blast furnaces. Thriveni Pellets’ operations include the Brahmani River Pellets plant of 4 million tonnes capacity in Jajpur and an iron ore beneficiation plant in Barbil, connected by a slurry pipeline. Financially, Brahmani River Pellets posted ₹38.67 crore profit on ₹2,473.91 crore revenue in FY24. This deal revives Tata Steel’s efforts since 2016 to integrate pellet manufacturing closely with its Kalinganagar steel facility after an earlier acquisition attempt was aborted in 2017 due to unmet conditions. The strategic move is expected to ensure a secure, localized supply of raw materials in a key mineral-rich region, supporting Tata Steel’s production capacities.