Perception about mining needs to change-MPT 2011

Mineral Processing Conference concluded on 22nd October 2011 at Udaipur, Conference focused on mining with care for environment and waste management

UDAIPUR: The 12th International Conference on Mineral Processing Technology (MPT – 2011) concluded in Udaipur on 22nd October 2011, hosted by Hindustan Zinc, India’s only and the world’s largest integrated zinc producer.

The Mineral Processing Technology Conference has been a strong platform for brainstorming various mineral processing issues & initiatives and find solution in terms of extraction of metals from the mineral resource and also how to manage waste. This year the theme was “Recent Advances in Processing of Non-Ferrous and Industrial Minerals”.

The conference began on 20th October 2011 with inspiring speeches by star speakers including Mr. G. Srinivas, the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Mines, Government of India; Mr. M.S. Mehta – CEO, Vedanta Group, Mr. Akhilesh Joshi – COO – Hindustan Zinc who is also winner of National Mineral Award; Mr. Rahul Guha, Dy Director General, Mines Safety and Mr. C.S. Gundewar, Controller General – Indian Bureau of Mines.

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The speakers had the point that mining is essential for the economic development of the nation. The role of mining industry in India, its contribution in GDP, infrastructure development, making India self reliant in metals like zinc, lead, iron ore, copper, steel, silver, aluminium; employment generation and global positioning is unquestionable. What is needed is responsible mining, with care for environment and community.

The speakers also stressed about changing the perception of people about mining. People need to know that today’s mining is all about scientific mining. “People have developed negative notions about mining industry. People do need to understand the importance of mining. India is one of the richest countries in reserves and resources. Today there is need for scientific and organized mining”, said Mr. C.S. Gundewar, Controller General of Indian Bureau of Mines at the inaugural function.

The Joint Secretary, Ministry of Mines, Government of India, Mr. G Srinivas was of the view that “mining industry is a large contributor in the GDP and there country needs raw material to meet the global demands and these are strategic and driven by manufacturing industry. India too needs such projects that can meet the global scenario. India’s mining policies need to match the mining policies of other countries of similar geographies”, he said.

Mr. Rahul Guha, Deputy Director General, Mines Safety, Government of Rajasthan stressed on the need for exploration of mineral wealth of India, “we have rich mineral resources out but there are many minerals still to be explored”.

CEO of Vedanta Group, Mr. M.S. Mehta stressed upon business excellence and strong focus on care for environment and community by Vedanta group companies.

The subject waste to value occupied a lot of space in presentation because of its environment impact. Mr. Akhilesh Joshi, COO of Hindustan Zinc informed that with dedicated and research the fly ash and slag is being used by cement industry and particularly for making roads. He also stressed that people need to know the technology used in mining industry. The notion of illegal mining and scientific mining are mixing. All big companies use scientific mining with minimal damage to the environment, he said.

Hindustan Zinc, the host of this conference has a state-of-the-art ‘Central Research & Development Laboratory (CRDL)’ which was established by the company in 1976 with an objective to enhance metal recoveries, to recover values from the waste and optimize waste management. The Company has also developed valuable waste management projects which include, developing process to recover cobalt from beta-cake, process to recover lead and silver from anode mud, and process to recover copper Sulphate from copper cement.

The CRDL of Hindustan Zinc has developed various processes for the industry which include process to recover lead and silver from low grade lead concentrate, evaluation of reserves and resources, new silver promoting reagents to enhance silver recovery, successful implementation of column flotation technique for silica reduction, and various flow charts for mining operations.

The Chief Guest, Mr. Ramlal Jat,  State Minister for Mines, Environment and Forest, Government of Rajasthan, speaking on the closing ceremony stressed on the need for care for environment and appreciated the efforts made by Hindustan Zinc towards environment protection and community welfare. He also emphasized that the need of global technology would always play an important role in mining sector.

The 3-day conference was attended by about 450 plus delegates that included about 50 experts from foreign countries. In 4 Plenary Sessions 19 expert speakers presented their views on various topics. The conference saw submission of over 200 papers and 175 presentations. The conference also witnessed about 25 technical sessions and eight corporates gave presentation, including Sesa Goa.