VV Mineral Vaikundarajan Speaks To Governance India On The State Of Heavy Minerals Industry

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VV Mineral Vaikundarajan Speaks To Governance
India On The State Of Heavy Minerals Industry
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Founded by S Vaikundarajan in late 1980s, VV
Minerals is one of the largest exporters of beach
minerals in India today. Ramesh Kumar Raja of
Governance Today interviewed Vaikundarajan on
Indias current position and its improvement in
the world heavy minerals market.
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Ramesh Kumar Raja What is the size of heavy
minerals market in India? VV Mineral
Vaikundarajan India has about 35 of world
deposits but contributes a meagre 4 of global
production. The total beach sand resources are
estimated at 942.58 million tonnes comprising of
Ilmenite, Zircon, Rutile, Garnet, Silimanite and
Leucoxene. Ramesh Kumar Raja How much does
heavy minerals constitute in the total mining
done in India? VV Mineral Vaikundarajan A
paltry 2 despite being home to worlds largest
reserves of heavy minerals sand.
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Ramesh Kumar Raja What are these heavy minerals,
where all they find utility and how are they
important for Indian economy? VV Mineral
Vaikundarajan Ilmenite, Zircon, Rutile,
Monazite, Garnet, Sillimanite and Leucoxene can
be used in industries such as electronics,
ceramics, pigments, paints, paper, plastics,
pharmaceuticals, aerospace and defence. Garnet is
widely used as an abrasive in oil producing
companies for corrosion control while Ilmenite
and Rutile are Titanium feedstock used for
producing Tio2 pigment and in production of
welding electrodes. Zircon is used in ceramic
tiles and in refractory for insulation.
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Ramesh Kumar Raja What are the major policy
bottlenecks that are affecting industry growth
despite the scope? VV Mineral Vaikundarajan It
has been only 3 decades that private sector has
entered the industry. Several government policies
are yet to be updated to suit the needs of
private sectors. 7 state agencies and 11 central
government agencies are involved in granting
permission for mining and processing. Several
conditions laid out by the Ministry of
Environment and Forest is impractical for private
sectors. Moreover, the CRZ requirement is not in
favour of beach mineral industry. Export licenses
are valid for only a year and renewal procedure
is tiresome.
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Ramesh Kumar Raja What are the opportunities in
this sector? VV Mineral Vaikundarajan If tapped
into correctly, the heavy minerals industry could
yield 30,000 crore rupees. The growth of mining
industry is a boost to Indias GDP. Currently,
the private sector contributes close to 5 of
worlds heavy mineral production. With
governments assistance, we can easily contribute
over 50 of worlds production. Ramesh Kumar
Raja Where do you foresee this industry in next
five years? VV Mineral Vaikundarajan With the
right policies and government assistance, the
growth of mining industry can be almost 30-50.
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Ramesh Kumar Raja What is your annual output of
heavy minerals each year in India? VV Mineral
Vaikundarajan A close to 7,00,000 tonnes of
heavy minerals each year valued at INR 850 crore
approximately. Ramesh Kumar Raja What is the
infrastructure of VV Minerals and who are its
close competitors? VV Mineral Vaikundarajan VV
Mineral presently owns about nine Mineral
separation plants with each dry plant having its
own pre-concentration plants, a huge fleet of
trucks and earth moving equipment, 12 warehouses
with a storage capacity of 600,000 tonnes, a
full-fledged RD Department, Exploration team
with Drill Rig, Centralised laboratory and first
of its kind Ship loader (which can load 21,000
tonnes/ day).
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Ramesh Kumar Raja What support do you need for
developing heavy minerals mining in India? VV
Mineral Vaikundarajan To start with, a single
window clearance for the mining industry will be
helpful. Export incentives will allow India to
compete at a global level. Restrictive Import
Policy should be done away with. The process of
MoEF and CRZ clearance for heavy minerals should
be simplified.
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