Make In India – Beach Sand Mining Sector

The mining industry contributes remarkably to the Economy of India. The sand mining industry is one of the key contributors in the mining sector. Sand mining is a process to extract sand and other rare earth minerals from the open pits. These rare earth minerals generally consist of elements like ilmenite, rutile, garnet, zircon, sillimanite, leucoxene and monazite.  These seven elements are extensively used in various day to day consumer products, as well as high tech applications.

Due to various conservative policies of government, the potential of private players in this industry is hindered. Beach sand-mining is different in many aspects. It is an important industry whose development is essential not just for India’s economic health but also strategic benefit. Until 1998, rare earth minerals were completely controlled by the government.

Globally, the rare earth mineral market is dominated by China with 97% of the export and India is the second largest exporter. Prices have increased, due to Beijing’s latest restrictions on rare earth minerals export. Countries like United States, France and Japan have being showing interest in the development of Indian rare earth mineral deposits.

In India, one of the largest producer and exporter of rare earth minerals like ilmenite is V. V. Mineral. The Managing Director and CEO of V. V. Mineral, S. Vaikundarajan said, “Though India is home to 35% of global rare earth minerals and 71% of world’s monazite reserve, China dominates the rare earth supply of the world. With a slight change in the policies, India can be the world top player of rare earth minerals.”  Further he added, “Keeping in mind the current demand of beach minerals owing to rapid innovation, the Make in India objective of the government won’t be so difficult to achieve.”

Beach Sand Mining sector can turn out to be a triumphant Make In India programme, if appropriate acknowledgment and encouragement is given by the central and state governments.

 

Striking a Balance: Mining and Nature

Justice Dalip Singh, judicial member, Central Bench, Bhopal of National Green Tribunal (NGT), said that major issues in the state are mining and forests, in a recent meeting at a seminar on ‘legal awareness of environment issues: role of courts and national green tribunal’ in Jaipur. “Minerals are found in forest areas. But, we have to protect the forest areas from getting affected due to mining. On the other hand, mining is also required as we need minerals. So, there should be a balance between the two,” Singh said.

Singh also emphasised that there is a need for research and development. “We have not invested so far in research. Not a single ministry has done any research on it.” he said.

However, as per reports and industry veterans, the resources for mining in India are not as limited as they seem. Reports suggest that India is not using its complete potential for mining, especially in the sector of beach minerals.

“I agree on the point that even more research and development is required to spot the appropriate areas for mining purposes. But it is also a fact that India is not short of resources and the mining industry can grow tremendously if government comes up with policies to favour efficient and nature-friendly mining practices.” said Vaikundarajan, MD & CEO of V. V. Minerals. V. V. Minerals is the largest sand mining company in India.

Vaikundarajan Explains The Problems Faced By Mining Sector in South Africa

The political unrest and labour instability has put South Africa’s mining industry at a huge risk. This in turn is bound to affect the nation’s capital. “South Africa’s mining sector accounts for a 7% GDP of the country. With the mining industry facing a downside, it could well be possible that the country’s mining potential is never achieved,” says Vaikundarajan, founder of VV Minerals India, one of the leading sand beach mining companies in the country.

As per the 2016 draft of the Mining Charter, companies are required to keep black ownership at 26%. This rule has not gone well with the Chamber of Mines who has threatened to take the government to the court. “The government did not consult the Chamber of Mines before passing the draft that redresses rules for white-owned companies selling stakes to black business,” informs Vaikundarajan.

The investors are losing confidence in the mining sector due to these two factors – improper governance and labour instability. Losing on investment will result in immediate collapse of the mining sector in South Africa.

Government Will Use New Tech For Tracking Illegal Mining Activity. Vaikundarajan Explains How.

In a bid to curb illegal mining activities, the Union Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines has launched the Mining Surveillance System in New Delhi.

“The technology is developed by Ministry of Mines in coordination with Indian Bureau of Mines and Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG), Gandhinagar and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY),” informs Vaikundarajan, founder of VV Minerals India, sand beach mining company.

Under the Digital India Programme, MSS is the first surveillance system in India to be developed using space technology. Vaikundarajan explains, “Currently, the entire system relies heavily on local complaints and unreliable information to track illegal activity. This new system uses remote sensing to check a region of 500 meters around the mining boundary and searches for any unusual activity. When an unusual activity is found, a trigger is sent to the district level mining officials for field verification. Further check is carried out and reported using a mobile app.”

Going one step further, this app will also be made available to citizens. “The collective effort of government and citizens will surely keep illegal mining at bay,” says Vaikundarajan.

Several other features such as – status of mapping of mining leases, reasons for triggers, penalty levied etc. – are embedded to help the officials make better decisions. “Currently there are 1710 working mines and 2133 non-working mines in India. While most of the working mines have been digitized, the government plans to complete the same for pending mines in 3 months,” informs Vaikundarajan.

A pilot of 296 triggers hosted on the National Centre of Geo-Informatics will be launched across Haryana, Telangana and Chattisgarh.

Government Aims To Double Coal Production By 2020. Vaikundarajan Explains How?

The undertaking of commercial mining and sale of dry fuel is on the way as the government allots several coal mines to state-government companies.

“The Baitarni West coal mine in Odhisha, Dahegaon/Makardhokra–IV mine in Maharashtra, Maharashtra State Mining Corp Ltd and Gourangdih ABC block in West Bengal, Patal East in Jharkhand, Penagaddppa mine in Telangana are some of the mines assigned to the companies,” informs Vaikundarjan, founder of VV Minerals India, one of the leading sand beach mining companies in the country.

Furthermore, eight coal mines are earmarked for allotment of PSU’s of non-host states for sale of coal. “The allotment agreement for two coal mines, Madanpur South mine in Chhattisgarh and Suliyari mine in Madhya Pradesh, is already underway,” adds Vaikundarajan.

The Centre has identified 16 blocks for allotment to state PSUs as a means to open up the coal sector for commercial mining. These mines are – 5 in Madhya Pradesh, 3 in Telangana, 2 each in Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra and 1 each in Odhisha and West Bengal.

“The government intends to double the coal production to 1.5 billion tonnes by 2020. With that objective, this move seems to be the right way to go for both the mining companies as well as india’s  mining industry,”concludes Vaikundarajan.