The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : State to set up mineral exploration wing

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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

State to set up mineral exploration wing

Special Correspondent

It will have geology experts and will take up scientific exploration of new ores

Environmental fund to tackle ecological issues related to mining planned
Technical cell to assist small mine owners in overcoming problems in mining process

BANGALORE: The State will soon have a mineral exploration wing in its Mines and Geology Department to take up scientific exploration and investigation of new mineral ores.

Announcing this at the inaugural session of a two-day seminar on “Iron ore mining industry in India” organised by the Mining Engineers’ Association of India here on Friday, Mines and Geology Commissioner K.S. Prabhakara said the proposed wing would comprise mines and geology experts in addition to youngsters who have obtained Ph.Ds in mining and related subjects.

Mr. Prabhakara later told reporters that scientific exploration of new ores was a must to meet the increasing demand for metals.

The Mines and Geology Department would set up an environmental fund to tackle the ecological issues related to mining, including afforestation, he said. The mine owners would be involved in this task.

His department would set up a technical cell to assist small mine owners to overcome some of the technical problems in the mining process. This would go a long way in improving the mining efficiency, he said.

Bellary mining

Mr. Prabhakara said a study undertaken by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute regarding environmental impact of mining in Bellary district has recommended various measures, including afforestation and a programme to fill the pits which have come as a result of indiscriminate mining.

The Mines and Geology Department would implement these measures with the involvement of mining companies, he said. The department has also written to the Union Government seeking that it should implement some of these recommendations.

He said the Mines and Geology Department was in touch with the Public Works Department for evolving the ways and means of repairing the roads being used for transporting mineral ores.

Inaugurating the seminar, National Mineral Development Corporation Limited Chairman and Managing Director Rana Som said his organisation was in the process of setting up a global mineral exploration and investigation centre in Raypur in Chhattisgarh to facilitate scientific exploration of mineral wealth. The Union Government will take up exploration work if there is a request from any of the States. The exploration would be carried out for free.

Mr. Som told The Hindu that at present two wings of mineral exploration had been set up in Raypur in Chhattisgarh and Hyderabad. In the course of time, both of them would be integrated and upgraded into a global unit to form a state-of-the-art mineral exploration centre.

He said there was a need for the country to improve its mineral exploration process to discover new deposits to meet the increasing demand for minerals.

While Australia and Latin America had been annually spending about $ 500 million and $ 700 million respectively on mineral exploration, India was investing only $ 5 million in this regard. Of this amount, $ 3.5 million was being invested on exploration of coal deposits.

He noted that India’s demand for steel, which was growing at a rate of 13 per cent as against the global demand of 6.8 per cent, was expected to double in about four years.

There was a dire need for the country to prepare itself for meeting such a demand as the mining projects have a long gestation period.

The growth in the iron ore mining sector in India and China in the last 10 years had triggered a global growth [in this sector].

India had doubled its steel production in the last 10 years to reach a mark of 51 million tonnes while China had increased its production by 10-fold in the same period to touch 500 million tonnes, he said.

The boom in the mining sector was not a temporary one and that it would stay for a long time, Mr. Som said.

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