Other States - Orissa   

No industry for value addition of extracted minerals by IREL

BERHAMPUR: Although Orissa Sands Complex (OSCOM) of Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) has been mining sand minerals from Ganjam coast for the past 25 years, Orissa is yet to have any industry for value addition of the produce of OSCOM.

Almost all mineral produce of OSCOM is either exported or it is bought by the industrial units from other States. OSCOM of IREL extracts minerals like ilmenite, rutile, monazite, zircon, sillimanite, garnet etc from the sand on the beach near Chatrapur in Ganjam district.

According to sources OSCOM now has mining lease of around 26 sq km area. When Ganjam based unit of IREL was set up both the Centre and the State government had envisioned promoting value addition of extracted minerals in the area. But it has not been the case till date. Ilmenite can be converted to high value synthetic rutile and High Titanium Dioxide (Hitox). In the past the IREL had also established a synthetic rutile plant at the OSCOM. But due to some reasons the plant did not operate for long. And OSCOM continued to concentrate on export of its extracted minerals.

Berhampur MP Siddhant Mohapatra said till now no efforts had been made by the IREL to come up with titanium dioxide plant or synthetic rutile plant at OSCOM.

It may be noted that value addition of minerals extracted by the OSCOM can lead to establishment of paint, pigment and other titanium based industries in the State, especially in Ganjam district. According to Mr Mohapatra, with proper promotion Ganjam district can become a major titanium hub of the country.

Similarly the other minerals extracted by the OSCOM also do not have any purchaser in the State as there was no industry in the State to utilise these minerals. Small and medium industrial units of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana buy these minerals from the OSCOM.

Without any value addition the State government is not gaining much as royalty from the mined minerals of the OSCOM. At present royalty rate of ilmenite is two per cent, 2.5 per cent on Zircon, three per cent on sillimanite and garnet. Value addition of these extracted minerals which would lead to establishment of ancillary units based on these value added materials can add to the State exchequer.

According to sources, at present the OSCOM is exporting around 2.2 lakh tonnes of ilmenite every year. The OSCOM is also planning to expand and increase its production to 4.7 lakh tonnes. But there is no plan of value addition, alleged Mr Mohapatra. In a letter to the Chief Minister, Mr Mohapatra has urged the government to discourage export of precious minerals extracted from Orissa coast by the OSCOM.

“We should judiciously use our mineral stock and stop their unabated export till industrial units for their value addition and ancillary units related to them come up,” the Berhampur MP said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Stage set for Naveen Kalakar festival
No industry for value addition of extracted minerals by IREL
A watershed in the lives of rural folk
Open fuse boxes posing threat to residents
Construction of technical varsity building hits roadblock
Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary takes up innovative avenue plantation
Police action condemned

Copyright © 2011, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu