mining engineers’ association of india

DateofPublication:26-12-2018 Regd.withRNIR.No.71519/99;No.ofPages:36+Cover4 DateofPosting:29/30ofeverymonth PostalRegd.No.H-HD-GPO/024/2018-2020

Mining Engineers’ Association of IndiaFlat-608 & 609, Raghava Ratna Towers, A-Block, VI Floor, Chirag Ali Lane, Abids, Hyderabad - 500001

Ph.: 040 - 66339625, 23200510, Email: [email protected] Website: www.meai.org

Mining Engineers’ Association of IndiaOfficial Publication of

Vol. 20 No. 6 January - 2019MoNthly

Price `100/-

CMYK

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DateofPublication:26-12-2018Regd.withRNIR.No.71519/99;No.ofPages:36+Cover4DateofPosting:29/30ofeverymonthPostalRegd.No.H-HD-GPO/024/2018-2020

Mining Engineers’ Association of India Flat-608 & 609, Raghava Ratna Towers, A-Block, VI Floor, Chirag Ali Lane, Abids, Hyderabad - 500001Ph.: 040 - 66339625, 23200510, Email: [email protected] Website: www.meai.org


Vol. 20No. 6January - 2019 MoNthly

Price `100/-

CMYK

CMYK

Mining Engineers’ Journal, Vol. 20, No. 6 January 20193

Vol. 20 No. 6 MoNthly January - 2019

Correspondence Address

MEAI National HeadquartersContact: Secretary General,

Mining Engineers’ Association of IndiaF-608 & 609, Raghavaratna Towers, ‘A’ Block, VI Floor,

Chirag Ali Lane, Abids, Hyderabad - 500 001.Ph.: 040-66339625, 23200510

E-mail : [email protected] website : www.meai.org

PresidentArun Kumar Kothari

this issue contains...

Vice President - II

K. MadhusudhanaVice President - III

S.N. MathurVice President- I

S.K. Pattnaik

The Views expressed by the authors in these pages are not necessarily those of Publisher / Editor / MEAI. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without written permission from the publisher.

Secretary GeneralS. Krishnamurthy

Jt.Secretary.cum.TreasurerK. Umamaheswar Rao

Ex-officio Council MembersT. Victor, A. Bagchhi, Dr S.K. Sarangi, Dr V.D. Rajagopal, R.P. Gupta

Council Members (Elected)A.L. Thakor, A.R. Vijay Singh, C.S. Dhaveji, D.A. Hiremath,

Deepak Gupta, D.K. Saxena, D.S. Maru, Dr K. Srihari,Kolli Umamaheswara Rao, Maheem Kachhwaha,

Mahesh A. Bongale, M.S. Raju, Pankaj Kumar Satija, R.H. Sawkar,Raghunath Singh, Rajendra Singh Rathore, Prof Sushil Bhandari,

S.C. Suthar, S. Kumaraswamy, Vilas Teggi

Representatives of Life Institutional MembersThe India Cements Ltd (LIM No. 16)

The Ramco Cements Ltd (LIM No. 17)Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Ltd (LIM No. 18)

Associated Mining Company Ltd (LIM No. 19)NMDC LTD (LIM No. 20)

Council Members (Nominated)T.N. Gunaseelan, A.K. Gupta, A.K. Sinha, S.M. Bothra, Deep Krishna

Council Members (Co-Opted)Dr N.K. Nanda, Prof B.C. Sarkar, Prof B.B. Dhar, M. James, Akhilesh Joshi,

Shri O.P.Gupta, Shri Ravindra Kumar Sharma


President’s Message 5

Editor's Desk 7

News from the Mining World 8

Safe Mineral Exploitation by Innovative Mining Techniques in Cap Zone Area (A Case Study of

Concurrent Working at Rampura-Agucha) 15 - Vikas Thakre, Rajeev Shrimali, Dr. P. K. Rajmeny, Rajendra Dashora, L.S.Shekhawat

Advances in Gold Ore Processing – An Introduction 24 - Vivek Ranganathan

MEAI News 30

Conferences, Seminars, Workshops etc. 38


President’s Message……Warm Greetings on New Year 2019 & Republic Day…

Our momentous journey in the year 2018 has come to an end. Year 2018 saw MEAI achieving splendid milestones. During 2018, 282 Life members, 120 Student Members, 5 Life Institutional Members, and 28 Fellow Members were enrolled. Successfully revived the Delhi, Veraval-Porbandar, Kolkata and Himalayan Chapters. Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Barajamada, Bellary-Hospet, Delhi, Dhanbad, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Nagpur and Udaipur Chapters organized several International-level Seminars, Workshops and Conferences, magnificently. HQ organized the Annual Award Function at Jaipur wherein Joint Secretary, NITI Aayog presented the coveted MEAI National Awards to our eminent mining industry professionals. On this occasion, 16 MEAI members were recognized for their exemplary contribution to mineral industry as well as to MEAI. Published a special issue covering complete activities of all the Chapters held throughout the year and 61 years of journey of MEAI. The Bylaws of the Association were amended, effective from March 1, 2018, by integrating clear vision and inclusive outlook.

During this year, Headquarters office was renovated and a new auditorium was constructed, attached to the new office, with 80-chair capacity. In a memorable grand function, Shri Ajay Mishra Ji, Addl. Chief Secretary, Govt. of Telangana inaugurated the new premises, on 24th January. MEAI celebrated its Diamond Jubilee at Barajamda Chapter, from where it originated, in a befitting manner. The Chapters celebrated Indian Mining Day throughout the Country with oozing enthusiasm. The key attraction of IMD this year was holding Essay competition amongst the students of various colleges and presentation of certificates to all participants and awards to winners by all the Chapters. A special issue of MEJ was published commemorating this important event.

For the first time, on the call of the President for a national disaster relief charitable cause, our members responded eloquently by contributing Rs. 8 Lakh to help the flood victims of Kerala and Karnataka states. Blood Donation, Poster competition and Quiz programs at different chapters were other attractions. Prominent coverage of MEAI activities by print and electronic media was also encouraging and it helped in creating awareness on the benefits of mining to public at large.

In the sixth Council Meeting held at Jodhpur on 15th of December,2018, the Council approved its Nominees unanimously for election to the positon of Vice President- III, Joint Secretary cum Treasurer and 28 Council Members for the term 2019-21. Association elections will be conducted shortly through e-voting for which the preparations are in advanced stage. The Council also approved of charging Rs. 200 per year, on account of handling and postal expenses, for those members who wish to receive a printed copy of MEJ from April 2019. Nonetheless, a soft copy of MEJ will be mailed as usual to all those members who provided their email id, free of cost, regularly. All those Life Members who are interested to receive the physical copy of MEJ may please send @ Rs. 200 subscription for one year directly to Association Headquarters by cheque/ online transfer to Headquarters Bank account or through their chapter collectively.

We all appreciate the contribution of mining for the economic growth of any country as well as creating infrastructure facilities. It is all the more relevant for a growing economy like India. Long awaited reforms in rules and regulation were initiated by the present Govt. hoping that these reforms will usher in a positive change in conducting exploration and production of minerals. However, after three years of implementation of these reforms, it is widely felt by the industry that they did not prove to be a game changer but became detrimental to the development of mineral industry in the Country. The latest example being the inadequate and discretionary regulation applied to extend Donimalai Iron ore mining lease of NMDC by the Govt. of Karnataka. The condition imposed on NMDC “payment of an amount of 80% of the average sale value published by IBM from time to time on dispatch of iron ore being payable along with the royalty and all other applicable taxes” forced NMDC to stop its mining operations. This action of the Govt. resulted in a huge revenue loss to the State Govt. spending of foreign currency on import of iron ore and excessive impact on employment.

I thank all our members and my team who have spared their time and money in achieving the objectives of the Association in the year 2018 and look forward to their renewed participation in future to drive MEAI to newer heights. I once again wish you all a Happy, Prosperous and Healthy New Year 2019.

Jai Hind – Jai Bharat

Arun Kumar KothariPresident


Presidents & Hony. Secretaries / Secretary GeneralsPeriod President Secretary/ Secretary Generals

MINING ENGINEERS’ ASSOCIATION1957-64 B.L. Verma Late B.N. Kanwar 1964-67 Late N.S. Claire Late R.C. B. Srivastava 1967-68 L.A. Hill Late S. Chandra 1968-69 H.L. Chopra M.G. Jhingran 1969-70 Late S.S. Manjrekar V.S. Rao 1970-71 Late R.C.B. Srivastava M.G. Jhingran 1971-72 Late R.K. Gandhi B. Roy Chowdhury 1972-73 I.N. Marwaha D.D. Sharan 1973-75 Late R.S. Sastry M.S. Vig 1975-76 Late G.L. Tandon K.K. Biran

MINING ENGINEERS’ ASSOCIATION OF INDIA1975-76 Late G.L. Tandon K.K. Biran 1976-78 D.L. Patni A.K. Basu 1978-80 R.C. Mohanty S.K. De 1980-81 M.K. Batra R.C. Dutta 1981-82 D.K. Bose S.B. Mukherjee1982-83 P.R. Merh M.K. Srivastava 1983-86 V.S. Rao Late L.S. Sinha 1986-88 M.A.Khan D.K. Sen 1988-90 Saligram Singh A. Panigrahi 1990-93 M. Fasihuddin B. Mishra1993-95 K.K. Biran S. Chandrasekaran 1995-97 N.S. Malliwal Dr. P.V. Rao 1997-2001 T.V. Chowdary Late C.L.V.R. Anjaneyulu (S.G)2001-2003 R.N. Singh - do -2003-2007 Meda Venkataiah - do -2007-2009 R.P. Gupta Late C.L.V.R. Anjaneyulu & A.S. Rao2009-2011 Dr. V.D. Rajagopal A.S. Rao 2011-2013 Dr. S.K. Sarangi - do -2013-2015 A. Bagchhi Koneru Venkateswara Rao 2015-2017 T. Victor - do -2017-2019 Arun Kumar Kothari Dr.H.Sarvothaman, S. Krishnamurthy

Chapter Chairman Secretary

1. Ahmedabad P.N. Rao Pulak Mathur2. Bailadila T.S. Cherian C.V. Subrahmanyam3. Bangalore Dr T.N. Venugopal Deepak Vidyarthi4. Barajamda Manish Mishra R.P. Mali5. Belgaum D.S. Malkai Dr.P.T. Hanamgond6. Bellary-Hospet B. Sahoo K. Prabhakar Reddy7. Bhubaneswar R.R. Satpathy Sabyasachy Mishra8. Dhanbad Dr.Pradeep K Singh Dr.Santosh K Ray9. Goa Cletus T D'souza E.Hymakar Reddy10. Himalayan J.L. Sud Dr. S.S. Randhawa11. Hutti-Kalaburagi Prakash Shiojee Roy12. Hyderabad B.R.V.Susheel Kumar Dr. C. Narsimulu13. Jabalpur - -14. Kolkata Dr. A. Srikant Shameek Chattopadhyay15. Nagpur D K Sahni K T Parag16. New Delhi A.K. Bhandari Deepak Gupta17. Rajasthan-Jaipur P.C. Bakliwal Dr. S.K. Wadhawan18. Rajasthan-Jodhpur Dr.P.C.Purohit A.K. Jaiswal19. Rajasthan-Udaipur Dr.S.S.Rathore M.S. Paliwal20. Raipur - -21. Rayalaseema Jayavelu A. Anil Kumar22. Singareni B. Ramesh Kumar K. Laxminarayana23. Tamil Nadu P. Ramasamy M. Mayilarajan24. Veraval-Porbandar Arun Kumar Sharma Manish Kumar Yadav

25. Visakhapatnam Prof. C. Kasipathi K. Venkata Ramana

1. Aarvee Associates, Architects, Engineers & Consultants Pvt. Ltd. (LIM-049)

2. ACC Ltd (LIM-25)

3. A.P. Mineral Dev. Corp.Ltd., (LIM-12)

4. Aravali Minerals & Chemical Industries (P) Ltd. (LM-048)

5. Associated Mining Co., (LIM-19)

6. Associated Soapstone Distributing Co. (P) Ltd. (LIM-057)

7. Belgaum Minerals (LIM-64)

8. Bharat Alloys & Energy Ltd., (LIM-36)

9. Capstone Geo Consultants (India) Pvt. Ltd. (LIM-66)

10. Dalmia Bharat (Cement) Ltd (LIM-71)

11. Designer Rocks (P) Ltd., (LIM-32)

12. FCI Aravali Gypsum & Minerals India Ltd. (LIM-61)

13. Grasim Industries Ltd., (LIM-26)

14. Ambuja Cements Ltd., (LIM-3)

15. Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd., (LIM-6)

16. Gujarat Mineral Dev. Copr Ltd. (LIM-18)

17. Gujarat Sidhee Cements Ltd., (LIM-4)

18. Gulf Oil Corporation Ltd. (LIM-9) (Formerly IDL Industries Limited.)

19. Hindustan Zinc Ltd. (LIM-60)

20. The India Cements Ltd. (LIM-16)

21. Indian Rare Earths Ltd., (LIM-35)

22. J.K. Cement Ltd (LIM-058)

23. JSW Cement Ltd. (LIM-63)

24. Jubilee Granites India Pvt. Ltd., (LIM-23)

25. Kariganur Mineral Mining Industry (LIM-41)

26. Kirloskar Ferrous Industries Ltd., (LIM-33)

27. Krishna Mines (LIM-27)

28. Lafarge India Pvt. Ltd. (LIM-69)

29. Madras Cements Ltd., (LIM-17)

30. Maheswari Minerals (LIM-65) (Laterite Mine Owners and Traders)

31. Mangala Associates Pvt. Ltd. (LIM-74)

32. Manganese Ore (India) Ltd., (LIM-37)

33. M.P.L. Parts & Services Ltd., (LIM-14)

34. MSPL Limited (LIM-30)

35. My Home Industries Limited (LIM-70)

36. Mysore Minerals Limited (LIM-45)

LIFE INSTITuTIONAL MEMbERS37. National Aluminium Co. Ltd, (LIM-1)

38. NMDC Ltd. (LIM-20)

39. Obulapuram Mining Co. (P) Ltd. (LIM-54)

40. Orient Cement (LIM-059)

41. Panduronga - Timblo Industries (LIM-056)

42. Pearl Mineral Ltd., (LIM-39)

43. Priyadarshini Cement Ltd., (LIM-5)

44. Radials International (LIM-29)

45. Rajgarhia Group of Industries (LIM - 050)

46. R.K. Marbles Pvt. Ltd., (LIM - 52)

47. Rajasthan State Mines & Minerals (LIM-053)

48. Sagar Cements Ltd., (LIM-21)

49. Sandvik Asia Limited (LIM-46)

50. Sesa Goa Ltd., (LIM-11)

51. Shivalik Silica (LIM-72)

52. Shree Cement Ltd. (LIM-051)

53. Shree Engineering Services (LIM-15)

54. Shri Sharda Cold Retreads (P) Ltd., (LIM-24)

55. S.N. Mohanty (LIM-62)

56. South India Mines & Minerals Industries (LIM-2)

57. South West Mining Ltd. (LIM-40)

58. Sri Kumarswamy Mineral Exports (LIM-43)

59. Sudarshan Group of Industries (LIM-047)

60. Tata Chemicals Ltd., (LIM-7)

61. Tata Steel Limited (LIM-8)

62. Terra Reserves Determination Technologies (P) Ltd., (LIM-055)

63. The K.C.P. Ltd., (LIM-22)

64. The Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (LIM-73)

65. Thriveni Earthmovers (P) Ltd., (LIM-31)

66. Transworld Garnet India Pvt. Ltd. (LIM-67)

67. Tungabhadra Minerals Pvt. Ltd. (LIM-42)

68. UltraTech Cement Ltd., A.P. Cement Works, (LIM-28)

69. Ultra Tech Cement Ltd. (LIM-10)

70. Veerabhadrappa Sangappa & Company (LIM-44)

71. VS Lad & Sons (LIM-38)

72. V. Thirupathi Naidu (LIM-34)

73. V.V. Mineral (LIM-68)

74. W.B. Engineers International Pvt. Ltd., (LIM-13)

Mining Engineers’ Association of IndiaRegd. Office : Rungta House, Barbil (Odisha)


Recognised Professional Organisation (RPO) with enforceable code of ethics, with the desired membership category and minimum years of relevant experience. The CP should prepare and sign off the Resource-Reserve reports only on the type of mineralisation/ deposit and in the activity of his competency and experience, such as exploration, evaluation, estimation, mine planning and scheduling, mining, mineral processing, financial analysis etc. There is no such stringent CP requirement for preparing the UNFC reports.

Unlike UNFC, the CRIRSCO Standard is not prescriptive and offer unlimited scope for the CP to take an independent view on all aspects of the report but the conclusions drawn in the report must be adequately substantiated with pertinent data and evidence. It is mandatory to present Mineral Resources and Reserves under five categories only.

In all stages of deposit evaluation, estimation, classification and reporting of Mineral Resources and Reserves, the CP entails expertise in multiple disciplines, which may not be feasible for a single professional to possess. Hence, a team approach is allowed wherein experts from different disciplines address their relevant areas, though one of the CPs, usually a geologist or mining engineer, takes the responsibility of signing off, on behalf of all other experts.

Transparency, Materiality and Competence are the governing principles of CRIRSCO Standard; and to qualify estimates of any part of a mineral deposit as Mineral Resource, it is essential to adequately satisfy the basic norm ‘reasonable prospects for eventual extraction’. However, in the case of UNFC, even the undiscovered and discovered but uneconomical quantities may also be reported as Resources. While the CRIRSCO reports are vital for the investors and the stock exchanges, the UNFC reports may be useful for keeping National Mineral Inventory by the governments.

Estimation, classification and reporting of Mineral Resources and Reserves is a scientific and complex process. The CP singing off the Report must have considered and confirmed all the geoscientific data at his disposal. The CP should have validated all the data for its accuracy and authenticity, confirmed legal aspects related to various aspects of the concession, chosen appropriate methods or techniques of modelling, estimation and evaluation, mine planning and Scheduling, mine closure plan, and license to operate from the communities. The CP should ensure that no overstatement of Mineral Resources or Reserves is made in the Report. When an industry professional is in doubt about his competency to act as CP for a particular mineral project, the concerned may consult with his peers for advice before consenting to act as CP.

For sustainable development of mineral resources, it is crucial to promote scientific exploration and evaluation of mineral deposits. In order to achieve that, an internationally recognized Mineral Reserve Reporting Code developed in India shall become the core of the policy of Indian mineral industry. India should become a member of CRIRSCO at the earliest and embrace the IMIC developed by the NACRI to instil confidence in all the stakeholders, including domestic/ foreign investors and potential investors, to attract much-needed risky funds for the discovery and optimal development of its mineral deposits.

- Editor

Editorial Board

President - MEAI Chairman

Editor - MEJ Member

Publisher - MEJ Member

Dr. Abani Samal Member

Dr. A.K. Sarangi Member

Prof. Annavarapu Srikant Member

Mr. P.C. Bakliwal Member

Dr. Sahendra Singh Member

Prof. S.S. Rathore Member

Prof. Sushil Bhandari Member

Imm. past President- MEAI Member

Editor

Dr. P.V. Rao

(Off. : 040 - 23200510 )

Cell : 96180 91039

Email: [email protected]

PUBliSHEr

S. KrishnamurthySecretary General,

Mining Engineers’ Association of India

Mob: 96187 43628

SUBScriPtion ratES

India Foreign

1. Subscription for

1 Year Rs. 1000/- US$120

2. Single Copy Rs. 100/-

Mineral Resources and Reserves are well defined and acknowledged terms and their usage imply economic viability of the mineralised material in a deposit. However, indiscriminate usage of these terms in recent times by the resource evaluators is apparent in the published technical literature and resource reports in India. While the mineral rich countries moved fast in developing their country specific internationally acceptable standards and guidelines, for reporting Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Reserves, India is yet to catch up. Concerted efforts ploughed in by the mineral industry professionals and leading professional bodies, such as MEAI, received wide spread support from the stakeholders and a National Core Committee for Reporting Mineral Resources and Reserves in India (NACRI) was formed to develop CRIRSCO compliant Indian Mineral Industry Code (IMIC).

CRIRSCO Template distinguishes itself from UNFC on several counts. One of CRIRSCO’s key features is definition of a Competent Person (CP). The CRIRSCO compliant reports must be prepared and signed off by a Competent Person (CP) only. To qualify as CP, one should be an industry professional and a member of

Editor's dEsk

Dr. P.V. RaoEditor, MEJ


ä FDI in Mining Sector: Don’t ignore displaced Odisha has a natural advantage of availability of

substantial reserve of varieties of mineral resources along with port facilities. From the very beginning of planned economic intervention, mining and extractive industries have been patronized by the State and the trend also has been continuing till now. A favorable FDI policy for mineral sector, with 100 per cent direct investment through automatic route, an auction system and a longer period of lease, is a proof of this. The investment conclave by Government facilitates smooth entry of corporates and so, in the coming days there will be more FDI to mineral sector of the State. It is equally important for the Government to see its various impacts while inviting new investors.

The question is what has been the experience of the State with last 70 years of extractive industry? How these industries have contributed to the growth of the State economy and more specific to the economic development of the people in and around mining areas and the mining workers in terms of their income, quality of life and environmental sustainability. While moving forward, these questions need to be answered in the interest of the people of the State.

Experience shows mechanization of mining has drastically reduced the employment scope of the local manual labourers. The condition of casual workers in mining areas has no way improved. The Odisha Economic Survey reports that employment in mining sector has not increased much due to a number of reasons though the production of minerals has increased.

The State is divided into 12 zones having minerals with a sizable reserve of iron ore, coal, bauxite and chromite. Barring the OMC and other State level private companies, the public sector companies such as SAIL, MCL, Nalco, NTPC and IRE and mega national level private companies such as Tata and Birla are the major beneficiaries of mineral resources of the State in post independent era and now many international firms such as RTZ, Mittal etc are joining in mining sector of the State.

It is a fact that these most profitable companies have created very minimal employment for the State but at the same time, they have hugely been supported in terms of land at low cost, water supply, electricity, infrastructure, transportation facilities and above all, minerals lease for a long time. The supplementary expenses by the State in backing the corporates is made out of public fund in the plea of development and employment generation. Nowhere has the cost

NEws from thE miNiNg worldand benefit analysis been done to inform the public. In the coming days with ongoing increasing trend of disinvestment of PSUs, the private corporates will be the sole players of mineral sector.

The State gets only royalty from the extractive industries, which is very nominal percentage of the sale cost of the minerals. Except minor minerals, the fixation of royalty is vested with the Central Government and the past experience shows the royalty rate has been very low and there has been delay in regular revision affecting the mineral bearing States such as Odisha. But there is no change in regular royalty revision process.

Illegal mining is encouraged by many vested interest groups, mafias, criminals with political and bureaucratic nexus to siphon off the resources and control law and order of the locality. The issue of illegal mining and theft and pilferage of minerals are not under control which is a major cause of loss of non –tax revenue from mineral sector. The State has been struggling with debt almost nearer to its annual income. Due to lack of resources, the State has not been able to continue many social welfare schemes. Besides, a dismal job sector stares it on face with about 1.32 lakh posts in Government lying vacant.

One of the major concerns that remains unaddressed in the State is mining related displacement and rehabilitation issues. Thousands of families displaced by mining and mineral-based industrial projects are very badly compensated and poorly rehabilitated. Particularly, the land issue for the displaced families has not been sorted out by the Government while the availability of land in mining areas grows scanty.

The unfinished survey and settlement work and possibility of distribution of forestland and its utilization will be more challenging in mineral reserve areas of the State which is primarily affecting the interest of STs and other traditional forest dwellers. It is already found that the scope of traditional seasonal employment in agriculture, forest related activities, fishing and animal husbandry in mining areas has been drastically reduced due to impact of mining that pollutes water, air and soil of the locality and also due to continued deforestation and loss of grazing land. Illegal mining has been a major cause of deforestation as it violates compensatory afforestation provisions.

No pollution laws and damage control measures are being followed to save the environment of the locality. It has wide impact over food security and living condition of the locals who are otherwise not employed in mines. Take for example the districts of Sundargarh and


Keonjhar having highest number of mining leases for last 70 years where distress migration of local youths is rampant. The quality of life of the people has not been developed; even some of the basic amenities such as drinking water, sanitation, housing and electricity are not available to local people in the mining areas. The Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes and other marginalized mining affected families of the districts are still grappling with underdevelopment.

As a legal provision, the mining royalty collected from the companies must be spent on the development of the people of the State, specifically in the mining affected areas but the fact is that the funds collected under royalty by State and District Mineral Foundation (DMF) at district level largely remain unspent and the DMF funds are being spent by violating the provisions. The funds available at district level for the local affected people are diverted for other purposes.

It is a criminal negligence towards affected people of mining areas by denying them of genuine rights and entitlements. The mining affected people are never consulted by the district administration while deciding over the spending of DMF funds and the basic human priorities of the local people are ignored. The status of access to drinking water, healthcare and primary education system is worst in almost all mining areas. A few months back the distress condition of STs of Nagada village in Sukinda chrome valley of Jajpur district had created lot of public outrage and condemnation against the apathy of the Government.

It is unfortunate that common people living over the resources are starving without basic minimum for life and suffer in hunger and malnutrition. The basic services of the Government under different schemes are not reaching to them and there has been no improvement in their life. The economic policy of the Government supports FDI in mining sector and the Government invites companies with red carpet to invest in the State. So in the coming days the life of the local poor people in mining areas will be more deplorable in the absence of a pro-people centered policy of the Government.

Manas Jena, BS | November 27, 2018

ä Supreme Court notice to Rajasthan power firm on PIL seeking coal block de-allocation

A PIL in SC sought cancellation of Parsa East-Kante Basin coal blocks allocated to ParsaKente Collieries, where Adani Enterprises is MDO

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to Parsa Kente Collieries (PKCL), a subsidiary of Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam (RRVUNL), and sought PKCL’s reply to a petition seeking cancellation of the Parsa, Kente extension coal block allocated to

it. Infrastructure giant Adani Enterprises is the mine developer-cum-operator (MDO) for PKCL.

The petition, moved by non-profit organisation Common Cause, alleged that Adani Enterprises and RRVUNL were in a joint venture (JV), which was in contravention of a 2014 order of the top court. In 2014, the Supreme Court had cancelled 214 of the 218 coal blocks allocated to various companies since 1993. It had then said that no state government or public sector undertaking of state governments were eligible to mine coal for commercial use. The top court had further said that any JV arrangement with firms or formation of a consortium or association for coal block allocation was also not permissible.

In its petition, apart from seeking cancellation of the Parsa, Kente extension coal block allocated to PKCL, Common Cause also sought that RRVUNL cancel its JV and coal mining delivery arrangement with Adani Enterprises. Adani holds 74 per cent in the JV, while RRVUNL holds 26 per cent, the petition alleged. Infrastructure major Adani Enterprises had in 2013 started commercial coal operations from the Parsa, Kente extension mine in Chhattisgarh. The mine, owned by RRVUNL, holds reserves of over 450 million tonnes (Mt) of coal. Earlier, Adani Enterprises had in 2007 won RRVUNL’s bid to become the MDO of the mine, wherein the former would take the all responsibility of land acquisition, mining, developing, and mine operations, including resettlement and rehabilitation.

The MDO also brings the necessary investment for the set up. According to the agreement between Adani Enterprises and RRVUNL, the coal mine had started production from 2 mt of coal per year in 2013 and ramped up production to 15 mt of coal by 2017. Adani Enterprises had planned a capital outlay of Rs 30 billion for the said coal block.

Aashish Aryan, BS, New Delhi | November 28, 2018

ä Supreme Court pulls up Centre for re-allotting cancelled coal block to Adanis

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Centre on a petition alleging that a cancelled coal block had been re-allotted to Adani Enterprises via a joint venture. The top court had scrapped the allocation of 214 blocks en masse in August 2014 on ground of illegality. The court had also ruled that any joint venture made in a manner so as to transfer the mining rights to a private company was illegal under the Coal Mining Nationalisation Act, 1973. The court had accordingly cancelled all joint ventures with the private sector, including the Parsa East & Kanta Basan block in Chhattisgarh allotted to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam (RRVUNL) in 2007.


In a fresh application, Chhattisgarh resident Sudiep Shrivastava alleged the block has been re-allotted to the Adanis in violation of the court judgement and subsequent changes in the law on March 31, 2015. The application filed by advocate Pranav Sachdeva was argued by lawyer Prashant Bhushan. A bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur, Kurian Joseph and AK Sikri issued notices on the plea. The bench is monitoring progress in investigations into the coal block allocation cases.

According to the petition, state-owned RRVUNL has 26% in the joint venture and Adani Enterprises has 74%. RRVUNL, the petition claimed, has continued the mining and delivery agreement of July 16, 2008, with JV ParsaKente Collieries. Under this arrangement, Bhushan claimed, the PSU was buying coal at a price higher than the rate notified by Coal India. According to the petition, the block is located in a dense forest, was an elephant habitat and was declared a “No Go” area for mining after a joint study by the ministries of coal and environment & forests. At petitioner Shrivastava’s plea, the National Green Tribunal had earlier cancelled the forest clearance granted to this block. An appeal filed by the Rajasthan PSU in the top court against the cancellation is yet to be disposed of.

However, the mine is in operation under working permission granted under an interim order by the apex court dated April 28, 2014. The petitioner alleged in the fresh application that although the CBI was aware that the JV was continuing against court orders, no FIR has been registered. “The inaction on the CBI part clearly demonstrate their bias in favour of this particular company,” the petitioner contended. According to the petitioner, this was clearly contempt of court and a criminal conspiracy. He sought cancellation of the JV and reversing allocation of the block and directions to the CBI to file a criminal case against companies involved for causing undue losses to the exchequer.

Samanwaya Rautray, ET Bureau | Nov 28, 2018

ä Odisha drags feet on DMF funds use, ranks 7th on project implementation

Most states are sluggish to spend DMF funds. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana have lackluster spending rate of below 10 per cent.

Odisha despite boasting of the highest fund accruals under the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) has turned to be a laggard state in implementing the projects. Figures sourced from the Union mines ministry place Odisha at the top of the heap in DMF collection with the state mopping up Rs 53.64 billion (as on March 30, 2018). But in terms of implementation of projects under DMF, Odisha ranks seventh, with a utilisation rate of 15

per cent. Of the total funds accruing to DMF in Odisha, Rs 39.22 billion has been sanctioned. However, only Rs 8.16 billion of the overall proceeds has been utilized.

In the pecking order, Chhattisgarh aces other states with a utilisation rate of 76 per cent. The state ranks third in overall DMF collection and has used Rs 23.46 billion out of its approved amount at Rs 41.84 billion. Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh follow with utilisation rate of 28 per cent and 26 per cent respectively. Most states are sluggish to spend DMF funds. Tamil Nadu, Karantaka and Telanagana have lacklustre spending rate of below 10 per cent.

Industry stakeholders have pressed the need for enhancing DMFF utilisations. “Construction and maintenance of roads connecting mines with railway sidings and dedicated freight corridors may be considered in DMF. Representatives from the industries may be considered as members of DMF trust”, said a mining industry source. DMF are trusts set up in the districts affected by mining, meant to be used for the welfare of the local population. Mining firms contribute to these non-profit bodies. Project Monitoring Units (PMUs) have been established in the state's top five mining districts- Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Angul, Jharsuguda and Jajpur. These PMUs are being managed by top consultants like EY and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). There is no dedicated office yet though one official has been identified as the DMF in-charge in Sundargarh district.

Jayajit Dash, BS, Bhubaneswar | Nov. 29, 2018

ä No coal mine to any private company without transparent auction: Ministry

The report on coal block allocation to the Adanis published on Wednesday should have read ‘SC Notice to Centre for Reallotting Cancelled Coal Block to Adanis’. The coal ministry has issued the following clarification on the report: A news item appeared in The Economic Times, which alleged that the central government has been pulled up by the Supreme Court for re-allotting a cancelled coal block to Adanis.

The central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not given any coal block whatsoever to any private company without a transparent auction process. The government had specially enacted the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 (CMSP Act) to ensure transparency and accountability in the coal sector.

Under Section 5(1) of the CMSP Act, coal mines can be only allotted to the Centre/states/PSUs. Parsa East and Kanta Basan coal blocks in Chhattisgarh were allotted to state PSU, Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam (RRVUNL) after inviting applications from PSUs. RRVUNL was selected on merit from applications received. To mine the coal, RRVUNL had appointed


mr. kk BiraN awardEdMr KK Biran, past President of MEAI, was presented with Eminent Engineer of the year Award on December 6, 2018 by the President Elect of Institution of Engineers for the year and Chairman of Mining Division.

Mr KK Biran and his wife with IEI President Elect

Dr. PrabHakar SanGurmatH awarDeD

Dr. Prabhakar Sangurmath, General Manager (Coordination), Hutti Gold Mines Co Ltd, Karnataka presented several papers in National and International Seminars and published over 40 papers. He is an editorial member of earth science journals. In recognition of Dr. Sangurmath’s outstanding contribution to gold exploration, mining and related R & D, the Ministry of Mines, Govt. of India, earlier conferred him with National Mineral Award.

In recognition of his outstanding service to Indian Mineral Industry, MGMI awarded him John Dunn Medal for the year 2017 – 2018.

a mine development operator (MDO) which is a joint venture between RRVUNL and a private company.

Further, as per Section 11 of the CMSP Act reproduced below, an MDO which was working on the mine before the cancellation of the coal blocks by Supreme Court can be retained by the allottee. Section 11, CMSP Act states: “Discharge or adoption of third party contracts with prior allottees –– (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, a successful bidder or allottee, as the case may be, in respect of Schedule I coal mines, may elect, to adopt and continue such contracts which may be existing with any of the prior allottees in relation to coal mining operations and the same shall constitute a novation for the residual term or residual performance of such contract.”

RRVUNL continues to be the mining lease holder and all permissions are to RRVUNL. The coal produced remains the property of RRVUNL, which is supplied only to its designated thermal power stations. In this case, the joint venture company is only a mining contractor to undertake mining activities as selected by the PSU under section 11given above. It is again being reiterated that no coal block has been given to any private company by the central government without due process of auction. Coal mines to private companies are only given by way of transparent auctions.

ET Bureau | Nov 29, 2018

ä NMDC sues Karnataka over revenue share from Donimalai mine iron ore

The PSU had decided to suspend operations after the Karnataka Govt. imposed 80% premium on iron ore sales from the mine

NMDC Ltd on Monday filed a case against Karnataka Government for claiming for larger share of revenue from the sale of iron ore from the Donimalai mine in the state. It may be recalled that last month, NMDC had decided to suspend iron ore mining from Donimalai after the Karnataka government imposed 80 per cent premium on sales of the mineral from the mine.

While an NMDC spokesperson was not available for comment immediately, industry sources have confirmed the development and have said the matter is posted for January 10 at the Karnataka High Court. A source close to the development said one of the main reasons the company moved the petition was the state's decision to fix 80 per cent premium on iron ore sales from the mine, when not only in India, but even globally no companies make such a margin. "There should be some logic before fixing any number," he said.

(Continued on Page 23)


oBituaryWith profound grief and sorrow, the Bangalore Chapter regrets the sudden demise of beloved Sri C.M. Deosthale, who was a founder member and Chairman of Bangalore Chapter.

Mr Chandrashekhar Deosthale (popularly known as Shekhar amongst friends) was a graduate Mining Engineer from the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad. He started his career as a mining engineer from Asansol (West Bengal). He later joined DGMS and rose to the level of Director at the time of his retirement in 1976. He served Indo Burma Petroleum, New Delhi as Chief Marketing Manager. In 1986, he was appointed as CEO of Bangalore based Chowgule’s Co. Karnataka Explosives Ltd.

Mr Deosthale was an avid cricketer and was Captain of ISM team, Dhanbad. He was also a keen Tennis and Bridge player.

He is survived by his two sons Duleep (based in the US) and Jaydeep based in Goa, daughter-in-law Nandita and his grandson Advait.

The MEAI family prays the Almighty to rest the departed soul in peace and grant strength and fortitude to the bereaved family to bear the loss.

Sri C.M. Deosthale(24.12.1930 - 6.12.2018)

our NEw fEllow mEmBErs

Sri m.m. krishnamurty(FM.101/HYD)

Sri Deepak Vidyarthi(FM.100/BANG)

Sri r.H. Sawkar(FM.102/BANG)

Sri Om Prakash Soni(FM.103/UDAI)

Sri kansingh Choudhary(FM.104/UDAI)

Sri maheem kachhwaha(FM.105/UDAI)

Dr Santosh kumar ray(FM.109/DNB)

Sri Sitaram kemmannu(FM.106/BH)

Dr murari Prasad roy(FM.110/DNB)

Dr Pradeep kumar Singh(FM.107/DNB)

Dr Devi Prasad mishra(FM.111/DNB)

Dr Sujit kumar mandal(FM.108/DNB)

Dr Sahendra Singh(FM.112/DNB)


1. InTroduction

(FIG 1: Isometric View of RAM - Location)

RA-OC: This is one of leading Lead- Zinc producing mine of M/s Hindustan Zinc Limited of Vedanta Group. Its mining

safE miNEral ExploitatioN By iNNovativE miNiNg tEchNiquEs iN cap ZoNE arEa (a casE study of

coNcurrENt workiNg at rampura-agucha)1 Vikas Thakre, 2 Rajeev Shrimali, 3 Dr. P. K. Rajmeny, 4 Rajendra Dashora, 5 L.S.Shekhawat

1 Manager & SBU Head Drill & blast; RAM; Hindustan Zinc Ltd; Agucha; Bhilwara; Rajasthan-311029; email: [email protected];

2 GM & Unit Head, RAM, Hindustan Zinc Ltd; Agucha; Bhilwara; Rajasthan-311029; email: [email protected] 3 Head Geo-tech, RAM, Hindustan Zinc Ltd, Agucha; Bhilwara; Rajasthan-311029; email: [email protected]; 4 Site President, RAM, Hindustan Zinc Ltd; Agucha; Bhilwara; Rajasthan-311029; email: [email protected];

5 COO, Hindustan Zinc Ltd, Agucha; Bhilwara; Rajasthan-311029; email: [email protected]

Original manuscript received on April 7, 2018; peer reviewed and accepted on July 24, 2018

Abstract: Rampura-Agucha mine is about to reach its LOM after successfully delivering the ore on sustainable basis since its inception. Presently, RA-OC has attended a depth of approximately 360 mtr, whereas its ultimate plan is to go up to 420 mtr. During these last couple of months and may be year, RA-OC has meeting with tough challenge of ore excavation from RA-UG cap zone area. Which is partially filled and lot of cavities of RA- UG working are there. Interpretation of these old RA-UG workings, its present positions and address of these issues by use of technology was a great challenge in maintain the continuity of ore delivery till LOM. In this context, RA-OC has set an example in mining industry by producing 2.2MT ore from Cap Zone area by use of latest technology and keeping safety at top most priority.In this paper, we are covering and briefing about technological changes adapted & maintained at RA-OC for safe ore excavation from cap zone area. (Key Words: RAM for Rampura-Agucha Mine, RA-OC for Rampura-Agucha opencast Mine, RA-UG for Rampura-Agucha underground operation, Cap Zone Area, Chimney effect, Drives, Galleries, Stopes & Cross cuts).

operation started by producing 0.9 MT ore in 1991. Ore production is subsequently raised over the years and final ore excavation capacity reached up to 6.15 MT in year 2010. Present working depth of mining operation is 360 meter and it is proposed to achieve ultimate pit depth of 410 meter. With these sustainable developments, RA-OC is supposed to achieve LOM by March-2018.

RA-UG: It is started in year 2010 with initial development in waste. RA- Ug produced developmental ore of 0.05 MT in year 2012. Then RA-Ug has successfully travelled journey of ore production enhancement in this short span of 4 years (2013-2016) from 0.32 MT to 1.38 MT. Now HZL management & RA-Ug team is planning to ramp up the ore production up to 2.50 MT in year 2017 and 3.75 MT by year 2019 respectively. HZL management is further aspiring to produce ore in the range of 4.5 to 6.0 MT from RA-Ug operation by 2020 on sustainable basis.

The main objective to ramp up RA- Ug ore production is to ensure smooth transit of sustainable ore production from RA-OC (after mine closure) to RA-UG at location with safety at top priority.


2. GEOLOGY

(FIG 2: Geological Cross Sectional View of RAM- OC)

The rocks of the area from a part of Mangalwar complex of Bhilwara geological cycle (3.2-2.5 billion years) belonging to archean age and comprising of magmatities, gneiss, graphite mica schist, pegmatite’s and impure marble. Both hanging wall and foot wall are criss-crossed with faults and joints and contacts of the mineralization are shear contacts. The ore body is hosted by graphite mica sillimanite gneiss. The average width of the ore body is 54 metre over a strike length of 1550 meter.

3. bACKGROuNDRA-OC is about to achieve ultimate pit depth, presently working in Cap zone of RA-UG by leaving crown pillar and excavating the remaining ore safely. Probably, this is first example of concurrent mining in India where both mines are under active operation.

(FIG 3: Longitudinal section of Interface working)

(FIG 4: Transverse section of ore body at NS-00)

4. CAP ZONE SCENARIOCap zone areas are the places in RA-UG those are lying just beneath of RA-OC which are under interface of RA- UG operation. Mining of the cap zone was quite challenging as the immediate hang wall above the cap zone did experience a sizeable deformation of 0.3 to 0.7m (about 2.5-3% volumetric strain) Under such circumstances, there were always possibilities of subsidence of the immediate hangwall above the cap stopes. The area was under critical monitoring with slope stability radar and supplemented with prisms monitoring. One of the challenging task during the blasting was to minimize the ground vibration levels so as to avoid caving of the stope- backs.

FIG 5: Plan view of Pit global movement )


(FIG 6: Cross sectional view of Pit global movement)

S.No. Particular Extend/ Nos. Status

1 HW DriveS-190 to N-220

Open

2 FW DriveS-660 to N-1050

Open

3 X-cut & StopesN-390 to S- 420

At 30 mtr. Interval

4 (a) Stopes 16 Filled with CRF5 (b) Stopes 12 Filled with RF6 Total Stopes 28 No open stope

7Water in Cap zone area

Below -5 mRL

Qty: 3 lakh cu. M

8Presence of Shear Zone

Along ore strike length

Present at FW contact

(Table 1: Probable threats during Cap Zone Mining)

Final surveyed positions of these areas were very well picked up & plotted on RA-Ug plan. But practically 100% packing of any stope/void is not possible. Therefore assuming significant voids in filled stopes as well chimney effect may elongated cap zone in ore part. Even variation in positioning of various drives due to fall of ground is inevitable. Thus, although RA-OC had sufficient data but team need to adept full proof innovative mining technique in such a manner to ensure safety of entire operation at utmost priority.

(FIG 7: Combined Workings Plan)

5. MINING STRETAGYTo meet out specific business call of ore requirement, a detailed strategy is defined w.r.t. mining operation and its sequencing. This broadly categorizes whole cap zone mining operation in two major parts.

5.1 Phase IIt covers area from N - 220 to S - 550 along the strike length @ 50 mRL and below benches. The main bottleneck during operation were total 21 nos of open stopes & cross cuts as well 630 mtr & 410 mtr length of HW drive & FW drive respectively.

RAM has target to recover ore safely up to 00 mRL in FY 2016-17.

(FIG 8: Phase-I Plan)

5.2 Phase IIIt covers area from N - 650 to S - 440 along the strike length @ 50 mRL and below benches. Actual position will come after lowering the benches from pit top & HW off- loading in final cut back.

RAM has also plan to recover1.7 MT ore safely up to -10 mRL in FY 2017-18.

Further, dewatering is critical activity in both phases. In this paper, we are dealing with Phase I only.

6. CAP ZONE WORKINGEntire Cap zone working can broadly be categorized in three parts.

6.1 DEWATERINGA comprehensive dewatering plan prepared and implemented. This included boring of 07nos. of holes of 300 mm dia. Out of these, 05 holes were drilled from 40 mRL to -5 mRL and 02 holes were drilled from 45 mRL to -13 mRL to puncture the water accumulated in cap zone. Then installed 07 no’s of submersible pumps having capacity of


125 hp, discharge @ 125 m3/hr & discharge head of 40 mtr. each. These pumps discharged water in intermittent sump created at 42 mRL, from where two mechanical pump of 300 hp used to discharge the water at pit top with support of double stage intermittent booster pumps installed at180 mRL and 290 mRL respectively.

A total quantity of about 3.15 lakh m3 was discharged in parallel to continuous mining operation to facilitate mining operation safely and efficiently.

(FIG 9: Dewatering from Cap zone to 42 mRL

(FIG 10: Dewatering from 42 mRL sump to Mine top)

6.2 MINING OPERATIONAlthough RAM has sufficient data then also to ensure 100% safe mining operation, we first ascertained and established the void before resuming any production drilling, charging-blasting operation and deployment of shovel-dumpers. In the same line, First, we prepared a working SOP and religiously followed this through the cap zone working and made some modifications according to field situations. Also deputed nodal “Cap-zone Void Manager”.

6.2.1 DRILLINGThis includes both prob drilling to ensure safety of entire system and production drilling for safe ore excavation.

Safety Initiatives:• Initiallyprobdrillingwassupposedtobestartedfrom

40 mRL but bogging and caving of one area has given us sufficient warning and we decided to go for probing from 50 mRL onwards.

(FIG 11: Track Mounted Prob drill machine)

• Itwasalsodecidedtodoatleast20mtrdrillingsoasto ensure hard capping of at least 10 mtr on every top bench for safety of drill-blast crew and lower bench for safety while shovel-dumpers deployed.

• Itwasalsodecided toconductblastof20mtrdepthwhere Probe holes were gone thru in stopes & cross cuts of less than 10 mtr thick cover. Keeping separate record of such blasts.

• Special “long boom drill machine” was introduced,which is a DTH drill mounted on crawler with extended boom length, which facilitates to drill over cap area from safe distance of 5.0 mtr.

• GeneraldirectionofdrillingwasmaintainedfromStoN in production blasts and approaching northern most limit then retreating from N to S in trim area.

• Deployed all compact drill machines and restrictedmovement of crew in defined probable RA-Ug void area with the help of safety life line.

Drill Hole Marking:Following Color code was defined and implemented in field for marking of different kind of drill hole markings.

Sr. No. Marking Color

1 Shear Zone area Green

2 Bench Crest limit points Red

3 Prob holes above X-cuts & stopes Blue

4 Intact Production holes White

5 RA- Ug working limit lines Yellow

(Table 2: Color Code for Drill Hole Markings)

In addition, ensured each borehole Id tagging in field for better coordination between void manager and drilling crew.


Drilling Pattern:Following three drilling patterns were used.

• 3MX3M–ProbedrillingalongtheCentrelineofcrosscuts and drives. Then moving away from centre line till completing 20 mtr drilling in hard ground or hole gets thru at certain depth.

• 5MX5M-Probdrillingalongthecentrelineofstopes.Then moving away from centre line till completing 20 mtr drilling in hard ground or hole gets thru at certain depth. Always keeping two way approaches during drilling to avoid the movement over stpoe.

• 4M X 4M- Production drilling pattern in hard in situground, where drilling up to 10 mtr. depth.

(FIG 12: Drilling Pattern in Interface area)

(Fig 13: Production drills deployed after Probing work) Initially probing was started with 76 mm dia later switch over 115 mm dia and same probed holes were plugged and used for blasting also. Production drill machines of 165 mm dia. deployed only when probing gets completed in remaining area.

Prob Drilling Data:Actual bore hole logging during probing was ensured for every 2.0 mtr depth of each hole. Separate log sheet with bore hole ID was provided to drillers and these probing data were shifted and stored in computer. These boreholes logging helped in following manner:

(FIG 14: Probing by Long Boom Drill Machine)

(FIG 15: Tagging of Borehole ID in Pit)

• To re-strengthen confidence over previous data,correlate them with existing data & ultimately given us better understanding of RA-Ug voids and its response over a period in term of failure.

• Helped indefiningblastingactivity insame line tofillthese RA-Ug voids by blasted muck so that shovel-dumper can ply over blasted muck safely. Thus eliminating any danger for bogging. Of course level settlement due to machine weight was expected & same were observed in few cases.


(FIG 16: Borehole Logging in Field)

(FIG 17: Record of Borehole Logging with ID in system)

6.2.2 bLASTINGBlasting cycle:The chronology of blasting operation includes measurement of holes, re-drilling of holes (if required), then verification of blast face as per drill plan by survey team, separately picking and marking of thru holes in stopes, cross cut & drive areas. Shifting of all drill machines, then start charging operation with clearance from void manager.

Charging practices:• Generallytakingblastof70-100holes.• Using100%electronicdetonators• KeepingMCPDof140-160Kginproductionblast• KeepingMCPDof100-120Kgintrimshot• Varyingstemmingcolumn3to4mtrinbenchheightof

10 mtr.• UsingSMEascolumnchargewithdensityinrangeof

1.10-1.20 gm/cc.

Charging of thru holes:• Oncetheholegetsthruat>10mtrdepth.

It was charged up to full depth and surrounding 4-6 holes also charged up to that depth and fired. Rest face is fired up to 10 mtr depth. Always kept record of such varying depth blast separately.

• Oncetheholegetsthruat<10mtrdepth

Entire face was blasted considering bench height of 10 mtr and kept record of such less depth holes blast separately.

Safety during charging:• Specialwoodenplugisusedtoplugthethruholesat

bottom, which is lowered by nylon string of sufficient strength to bear the weight of explosive column.

(FIG 18: Preparation of Wooden Plug)

(FIG 19: Lowering of Wooden Plug in thru holes)

• SafetylifelineswereinstalledacrosstheBMDtrucks.Very limited permitted crew were attached with these life lines to complete charging and stemming work safely under supervision of blasting engineer.

(FIG 20: Safe way for SME loading in Cap Zone)


(FIG 21: Safe way for SME loading in Cap Zone)

Firing Sequence:• Opened the benchwith production blast against the

already filled waste in FW side from 50 to 30 mRL, while rest blasts were taken by utilizing this first production cut as free face.

• Openedthebenchof20mRLandbelowbyfiringsmallsize box cut by center lift blast pattern. While rest blast were taken considering this box cut as free face

• Lineoffireforallstandardproductionblastswerekeptperpendicular to bench plane orientation with in hole delays ranging from 24 ms to 48 ms. While inter row delays were incremental from 84 ms, 102 ms, 126 ms and 150 ms.

• Trimshotof22mtrwidth firingseparatelypreferablywith free face. Ensuring presplitting at 70° and 60°in HW and FW respectively.

(FIG 22: Blast Result showing partially filled Stope)

Challenges Encountered:• Fractured & geological disturbed area possesses

difficulty in drilling.

• RoofboltingofRA-Ugbelow30mRLpossessproblemin whole mining operation

• Effective plugging couldn’t ensure in some fracturedand thru area, results in excessive use and wastage of additional SME.

• Presplitting along the HW drive was tough task bydeploying drill machine across the drive.

• Collapseofdrilledholeduetoexcessivewaterinfewarea/benches

• Difficulty in drilling shear zone,more drill rod lossestaken placed.

• DrillRTDlossesingeotechnicalsupportedarea.

• In some area as per field condition and position ofore contact, it was essential to blast ore and waste together.

Countered Measures:• Ensured best efforts in term of quality drilling –

blasting.

• Dealtwithtoeandbouldersinroutinetoreduceoverallcycle time.

• Changed presplit angle to 90° above HW drive andsome area not approachable by machines at north bench extremities.

• Ensuredoredilutionminimumbytakingoreandwasteblasts separately. But where blasts were taken together, ensured best segregation of ore and waste.

(FIG 23: Actual Pit Position at 10 mRL)

6.2.3 EXCAVATIONRA-OC has engaged front loading excavator (15 m3) in production blast and dedicated back hoe shovels (12 & 9 m3) in trim area for wall dressing and selective mucking of ore on opportunity basis. Following key initiatives were taken to strengthen the safety during excavation work.

• Firstofalltakengeo-techdeptt.clearancebeforeanymachine deployment after blast.

• Ensuredatleast2hrs.coolingtimeforcriticalblastandfor every blast below 30 mRL.

• Referencemarkingof probableRA-Ugvoidsby limepowder & colored wooden fluorescent sticks on blasted muck before any machine deployment.

• Intermittentdumpingofore@240mRLandwaste@120 mRL to reduce the cycle time for speedy removal of muck.

• AdditionallightingarrangementandreductioninLMVtraffic at bottom area.


(FIG 24: Safe excavation under supervision)

6.3 GEOTECHNICAL EVALuATIONBoth HW and FW are continuously being monitored for sub surface movement. Entire area is divided into four major parts. Main stability issues are noticed after opening of old RA-Ug foot prints mainly in HW side. This includes open stopes and drives in HW which disturbs pit wall stability to great extends once exposed @ 20mRL and below levels.

Few key initiatives taken were:• ContinuousmonitoringofmovementbySSR

Both SSR installed for monitoring of all zones in HW and FW as well.

• In addition, Prisms were installed for every 100 mtr& 50 mtr interval in selective benches in FW & HW respectively.

• Proactive actions were taken for stitching andprestressed cable bolting to address the localized failure to trap it from further extending

• Ensured depressurization of benches by horizontalholes.

• Looking towards severity of movement restrictedmachine deployment in day light hours below 30 mRL

• Even ensured one randommock drill for emergencyresponse to check our own preparedness for any emergency.

Registered the cumulative & peak movement with date mentioned as under.

Sr. No. Zone +ive -ive Peak movement with date

1 A 90.0 82.3 15 mm on 11.03.2017

2 B 183.3 NIL 17 mm on 11.03.2017

3 C 40.6 NIL 6 mm on 30.03.2017

4 D 52.8 NIL 7 mm on 30.03.2017

(Table 3: Zone-wise bench movement trends)

• These trends of bench movement were monitoredfor almost 4 months. (2nd, Dec-16 to 31st, Mar-17) till completion of cap zone mining operation.

• SSR data were daily picked, analyzed by Geo-techteam and guided operation team for safe execution of mining activities

(FIG 25: SSR Monitoring Zones)

7. bENCH WISE DATABench on bench data was captured and maintained in true spirit to guide entire team regarding probable danger in operation. Practically, there was no need of prob drilling operation to ascertain the Ra- Ug voids once all exposed Stopes, X-cuts and Drives got filled by previous bench blasts at 20 mRL and below benches.

BenchProb Holes

(Nos.)Prob Drilling

(Mtr.)Thru holes

(Nos.)

50/40 214 4280 17

40/30 380 7600 153

30/20 195 3900 160

20/10 NIL NIL NIL

10/00 NIL NIL NIL

(Table 4: Prob Drilling Details)

Bench Stopes Cross-cuts Drives

50/40 1 1 NIL

40/30 12 21 1 (HW)

30/20 12 20 1 (HW)

20/10 NIL NIL 1 (FW)

10/00 NIL NIL NIL

(Table 5: Numbers of Ra-Ug Voids encountered)


Bench10 mtr.(Nos.)

20 mtr. (Nos.)Recovered Ore ( te.)

50/40 16 02 4,42,984

40/30 22 10 7,49,797

30/20 19 NIL 5,63,522

20/10 12 NIL 2,33,630

10/00 03 NIL 34,461

(Table 6: Blast Details in Ore)

Bench 10 mtr. (Nos.) Waste Muck ( te.)

50/40 7 3,81,236

40/30 16 8,85,672

30/20 4 58,695

20/10 NIL NIL

10/00 NIL NIL

(Table 7: Blast Details in Waste)

8. RESuLTSDuring the cap zone mining operation, RA-OC has generated and handled 3.34 MT materials from 50 mRL and below benches, which delivered 2.02 MT Ore. Thus successfully complete this unique but critical activity of Cap zone (Phase-I) in approximately 4 months safely.

To achieve this desired result RA-OC did 15790 mtr. Prob-drilling. Out of total 84 blasts 72 & 12 blasts were conducted with depth of 10 and 20 mtr respectively with average blast size of 24,100 te in ore. During this period safely dealt with 12 nos Stopes, 21 Crosscuts, 160 mtr. long drive in HW and 60 mtr. long drive in FW, which all were part of phase-I mining sequence.

9. CONCLuSIONTeam RA-OC once again proved that with use of latest technology, better utilization of available resources efforts can be made towards achieving goals. RA- OC adopted innovative noble mining techniques in cap zone area and safely delivered the ore more than planned in FY 2016-17.

10. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTAuthors are sincerely thankful to all deptt. for their dedicated efforts & internal coordination for safely executing the cap zone mining operation.

Authors are grateful to all deptt and their team for extending full support in writing this technical paper.

Authors are sincerely acknowledging thanks to HZL management for kindly giving approval for writing, publishing and presenting this paper.

11. REFERENCES

Calder P. N., Eng P., David A. Tutton C. Eng. (Nov-2002), “KCGM Options Study review for Voids Management”. Toronto, Canada.

KCGM (Nov-2012), “Mine Sop for Mining around underground working, (SOP No-5), KCGM Toronto, Canada”.

(July-2016), “SOP for working between +18 to -5 mRL of Underground working through open pit”, RAM

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Karnataka Government is planning to auction the Donimalai iron ore mine as NMDC refused to pay an additional levy on ore sales, says a Reuters report. NMDC suspended its operations at the mine last month, as an 80 per cent premium would have an adverse effect on its revenue. Source estimate that NMDC would be losing Rs 1,348 per tonne, due to which its annual losses would stand at about Rs 9.44 billion. Donimalai capacity is about seven million tonnes.

NMDC's decision to suspend iron ore mining would result in an increase of 10-15 per cent in iron ore prices, say industry sources. The current price in Karnataka is Rs 1,500-2,500 a tonne, depending on the categories. Basant Poddar, former chairman and member of Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), South, had earlier said that the decision (to impose an 80 per cent premium) was the prerogative of the state government. "As per the Auction Regime Act, 2015, the government cannot levy any premium on the existing mines, however, it can do so on new/ renewed mine leases,” he had opined.

Mining companies are already paying 15 per cent for royalty, 20 per cent for SPV, 4.5 per cent DMF (District Mineral Foundation) and 0.5 NMET National Mineral Exploration Trust. This suspension will cause a temporary disruption on the supply of raw material, said Poddar and will lead to 10-15 per cent hike in price. The Karnataka cabinet has approved the mining lease of Donimalai till November 2038, on payment of 80 per cent of the average sale value as published by Indian Bureau of Mines, said NMDC. NMDC told the Karnataka Chief Minister that the levy is not economically viable. The Chief Minister, NMDC says, in turn directed all concerned to relook at the legal and other issues, following NMDC's representation.

T E Narasimhan, BS, Chennai | Dec. 17, 2018

(Continued from Page 11)


1. INTRODuCTIONThe extraction of gold from the earth has been pursued with vigor since it developed intrinsic value early in the history of mankind as a result of its unique physical and chemical properties, its decorative appeal, and its scarcity. From the ancient Egyptians to the country’s treasury, there are few metals that have had such an influential role in human history as gold. The veneration reserved for gold by the ancients has led to its use for many centuries for religious artefacts. Gold was often cast in form of idols or hammered into foil to make masks for the dead. Gold was employed for barter and subsequently for coinage. Egypt was the principal gold-producing country in ancient times. The world’s oldest mine map, which is made on papyrus and held at the Turin Museum (Museo Egizio di Torino) in Italy, shows the huts of the Egyptian miners, the road to the gold mines and the hills within which the gold veins occurred. During the Classic period of Greek and Roman rule in the western world, gold and silver both flowed to India for spices and to China for silk. Gold was so precious that from earliest times man has left no stone unturned in searching for it in nature.

2. GOLD OCCuRENCEMost gold occurs as native metal, nearly all alloyed with various amounts of silver as the mineral electrum, but not with copper. Certain minerals are characteristically associated with gold. Based on the mineralogical characteristics and mineral processing techniques required, gold ores can be classified into eleven types as below,

l Placers

l Quartz vein-lode ores

l Oxidized ores

l Silver-rich ores

l Copper sulfide ores

l Iron sulfide ores

l Arsenic sulfide ores

advaNcEs iN gold orE procEssiNg – aN iNtroductioNVivek Ranganathan

General Manager – Mineral processing, Geomysore Services India Limited, Bangalore, India, [email protected]

Original manuscript received on February 10, 2018; peer reviewed and accepted on February 10, 2018

Abstract‘Right first time’ is what an industry wants. This is more relevant when the economics of a company is driven by few grams in a gold processing plant where tonnes of ore are being processed. The gold-processing industry is experiencing change. With increasing pressures to ensure minimal socio-environmental impact through the entire life cycle of the mine, it is important to aim at getting it ‘right first time’. As free-milling and oxide ores become depleted, more complex polymetallic and refractory ores are being processed, it is important to adopt right and best technology. The treatment of gold ores, in particular the competing technologies and their relative advantages and economics, has become a major focus within the industry.

l Antimony sulfide ores

l Bismuth sulfide ores

l Telluride ores

l Carbonaceous - sulfidic ores

3. EVOLuTION OF PROCESSIn early days there was no need for any chemical or metallurgical knowledge to recover gold; it occurred in nature in the native state and simple panning was enough to collect the glittering particles and sometimes nuggets. Because gold has such a high density (19.3 g/cm3), panning can be used to easily separate it from the sand and gravel with which it is associated. Gold collected by panning or from rich veins was melted to recover it as relatively pure metal.

As machinery was developed and extraction processes perfected, mining was extended to less rich deposits. Stamp mills, a grinding machine where the grinding action takes place by falling weights, reduced the pain of powdering the gold ore. Romans developed amalgamation process where Fine powdered ore slurry containing native gold and silver is then passed over copper plates amalgamated with a thin layer of mercury onto which the noble metals adhere. Depending on the gold content of the ore, the amalgam is scraped once or twice a day and gold is extracted using horizontal retort. The toxicity of mercury was a big concern. The discovery of aqua regia by the Arab alchemist Jabir Ibn Hayyan (720–813 AD) and its ability to dissolve gold introduced chlorination technology for the extraction of gold from its ores and use of charcoal.

The accidental discovery of Berlin blue by the German alchemist Johann Conrad Dippel in 1704 introduced cyanidation process which was perfected in by MacArthur, Charles W. Merrill & Thomas B. Crowe and the technique developed around 1904 being called as Merrill–Crowe process. This displaced chlorination process in almost all the mines.


For the past 100 years the key element in the processing of gold ore has been the cyanidation process. Over the years steady improvements have occurred in equipment design; milling has evolved from stamp mills, through tube mills and ball mills to the large semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) and fully autogenous grinding (FAG) circuits in modern gold plants. Application of gravity concentration has also waxed and waned over the years but with the development of modern centrifugal machines, this technique has become more popular, and sees a greater variety of equipment alternatives being available than ever before. The advent of carbon-in-pulp in the early 1980s was probably the single most important technological development over the past hundred years. The recovery of gold from refractory ores has also steadily increased over the past 20 years, largely a result of circumstance and necessity, as the easier free-milling gold ores have been depleted. In turn, hydrometallurgical processes, like pressure-oxidative and bacterial leaching, have in many cases superseded traditional roasting practice. The use of resins and alternative lixiviants has also been and continues to be investigated, but as yet these options have not diminished the use of the core carbon-in-pulp (CIP) technology.

4. ORE TYPESIn terms of processing, the gold ores can be categorized as

l Free-milling ore processes;

l Complex ore processes;

l Refractory ore processes.

Figure 1: Gold ore processing - Categorization

Free-milling ore is defined as yielding over 90% recovery under conventional cyanidation conditions, while those ores

that give acceptable economic gold recovery only with the use of significantly higher chemical additions (e.g. cyanide, oxygen, carbon) are defined as complex. Refractory ores are thus defined, by exception, as those that still give inadequate recovery. Refractory ores, on the other hand, are difficult to treat and require pre-cyanidation processes to liberate the gold. Underlying the difficulty of processing refractory gold ores is their mineralogy. This type of ore may have,

l Gold in intimate association with and locked in sulphide minerals,

l Gold associated with carbonaceous matter capable of adsorbing aurocyanide and

l Gold in solid solution with other minerals.

Gold encapsulated in sulfide minerals is presently pre-treated by either roasting, pressure oxidation, bio-oxidation, ultrafine grinding or ultrafine grinding with atmospheric oxidation. Preg-robbing ores are pre-treated by roasting or at low carbonaceous content, the preg-robbing material can be blinded by an organic reagent like kerosene.

5. FREE MILLING ORE PROCESSESFree milling ores are easy to process by simple gravity techniques or direct cyanidation. Gravity separation is the primary recovery mechanism employed ahead of other downstream processes. For more than 95% of all applications, gravity recovery targets GRG (Gravity recoverable gold) to supplement cyanidation or flotation, thereby increasing overall gold recovery by 1–5% and slightly reducing some of the costs associated with carbon stripping and regeneration as shown below,

Application Type benefits

Recovery of GRG ahead of Cyanidation

Higher Overall recoveryLow Carbon costsLower retention times in Cyanidation

Recovery of GRG ahead of Flotation

Higher overall recoveryBetter Net Smelter returnLower reagent costsPossible avoidance of Cyanidation

Pre-Concentration Lower downstream processing and tailing disposal costs

Scavenging of GRG in tailing

Higher overall recoveryCoarser initial grind

Partial Pre-concentration of gold carriers for intensive cyanidation

Higher overall recovery Coarser initial grind

Figure 2: Benefits of gravity concentration


The gravity concentrators can be classified as centrifuge and non-centrifuge. Shaking tables, Spirals are examples for non-centrifuge type and Knelson/Falcon concentrators, Gekko’s Spinner are examples for centrifuge type.

The Gravity separation is followed by cyanide leaching (cyanidation) and adsorption. Gold dissolves readily in cyanide solutions in the presence of oxygen, and the resultant gold cyanide complex ion (molecule) is readily adsorbed onto activated carbon. The dissolution of gold takes place via the following reaction (Elsener Equation):

4 Au + 8 NaCN + O2 + 2 H2O ----- 4 NaAu(CN)2 + 4 NaOH

After comminution and gravity separation the pulp is normally dilute and thickening (6-12% solids by mass) is performed to increase the pulp density to about 50% solids by mass. This reduces the size of the leaching plant that would be required as well as reduces the amount of leaching reagents required. Many gold plants use conventional thickening with flocculant addition. High rate thickeners, as well as de-watering systems that use cyclones only or cyclones and high-rate thickeners can also be used in principle. Leaching reagents in the form of cyanide and an oxidant such as air or oxygen are added after thickening. Leaching takes place in a series of agitated leach reactors. Before leaching the pH of the pulp is normally adjusted to a value of around 9.5–11 to ensure minimum loss of cyanide as hydrogen cyanide.

There are two recognized methods of gold recovery following dissolution with the cyanidation process, namely Carbon in Pulp (CIP) or Carbon in Leach (CIL). The CIP and CIL processes are illustrated in the figure below,

Figure 3: The Carbon-In-Pulp (CIP) process

In CIP, pulp flows through several agitated tanks where sodium cyanide and air or oxygen have been added to dissolve gold into solution. In the absorption stage, this solution flows through several agitated tanks containing activated carbon. Gold absorbs onto the activated carbon, which flows countercurrent to the pulp, while screens

separate the barren pulp from the gold-loaded carbon. In CIL, the process carbon is added directly to the leach circuit so that the leaching and adsorption processes proceed simultaneously.

Figure 4: The Carbon-In-Leach (CIL) process

The applications for which CIL is preferred over CIP are,

ä The treatment of low-grade material where long leaching times are not normally required to leach all the gold which is recoverable by cyanidation.

ä The treatment of complex ores which contain constituents (such as carbonaceous material) which tend to adsorb or precipitate the gold aurocyanide complex. If leaching is performed in the presence of activated carbon the aurocyanide complex is preferentially adsorbed onto the activated carbon, resulting in higher gold recoveries.

The gold adsorbed in the carbon is then eluted (desorption). The loaded carbon will be screened and washed thoroughly with raw water ahead of elution. An eluant solution containing 4% caustic and 2% cyanide will be made up and then circulated through the column at a temperature of 125-130 deg C via primary (heating) and recovery (cooling) heat exchangers. The gold bearing strip solution will then be circulated through the electro-winning cell via an expansion tank and then back to the eluate circulating tank for recycling through the loaded carbon. This process will be continued until the carbon has been stripped down. Raw water will then be pumped through the column to rinse the carbon prior to regeneration. Stripped carbon will then be pumped to the regeneration circuit for thermal regeneration & acid wash and re-use within the CIP/CIL circuit.

Once a week depending upon gold loading, the electro-winning cells are taken off line and the cathode baskets removed from the cells. The stainless steel wool is removed from the baskets and both the baskets and the cathode mats are washed in the wash bay using high pressure water. All sludge will also be cleaned from the bottom of the cell.


The sludge is collected in the high pressure wash hopper and passed to the sludge filter press where all excess water is removed. The filtered sludge collected is then placed in stainless steel trays and calcined at 650 deg C in the calcine oven to dry the material and oxidise any remaining base metals. The washed and cleaned stainless steel wool cathodes are returned to the electro-winning cells for the next elution recovery cycle. The calcined gold sludge is then mixed with flux (borax, silica and nitre) and smelted in the smelting furnace to produce gold bullion and slag.

There are two approaches to the elution of gold from carbon, which have stood the test of time from both a commercial and technical perspective. The two processes are the Anglo American Research Laboratory (AARL) elution process and the Zadra elution process. The process explained above is of Zadra elution and the major difference in AARL elution process in that the elution and electro-winning operate separately.

The general consensus is that there is not a great deal to choose between the two and the choice often comes down to operator experience and preference. Advantages of the AARL are its relative speed and the decoupling from electro-winning. The AARL requires less heat input. Advantages of a Zadra are perceived as a simpler flowsheet.

6. COMPLEX ORE PROCESSESComplex ores are intermediate between free-milling and refractory ores. As such, they give rise to high usages of cyanide and oxygen and/or are pregrobbing. The Plant experiences poor recovery due to complex mineralogy such as Stibnite, Arsenic, Carbon, Telluride, Silver and other pacifying agents such as Iron, which can form coatings. The processes to treat complex ores are not detailed in this paper.

7. REFRACTORY ORE PROCESSESRefractory ores are defined as those that give low gold recoveries or give acceptable gold recoveries only with the use of significantly more reagents or more complex pre-treatment processes. While the recovery of free milling gold by gravity and direct cyanidation is straightforward and well-established, refractory ores pose a very different challenge to producers. The first challenge is determining the reason for the poor recovery by direct cyanidation, which can be caused by one or more contributors. The oldest and best understood is gold locked in sulphide, and most frequently pyrite. The second contributor to refractory behavior is arsenic, which causes high refractoriness even at low concentrations. The presence of carbon in the ore is also a frequent cause of poor recovery, not because it makes the gold unresponsive to cyanidation but because it readily absorbs gold in solution and leads to “preg-robbing”.

Therefore, if an ore is refractory, a basic understanding of the origin and mineralogy of the gold ore is a necessity prior to any process development. Once the refractory nature of the ore is understood, various process options might be applicable to increase the gold recovery. However, the final selection of the process would be based on factors such as capital costs, operating costs, location client strategies, etc.

There are various pretreatment options available to liberate the refractory gold namely Pressure oxidation, roasting, biological oxidation (Biox), Albion process and ultra-fine grinding (UFG).

Generally the first step in the recovery of refractory ores is to preconcentrate the gold and associated sulphur minerals into a flotation concentrate, which may be less than 10% of the total mass. The flotation concentrate is then treated by one of the following processes to enable recovery of the contained gold.

ä uLTRA FINE MILLINGIn this process, the concentrate or whole ore feed from the grinding circuit is further ground to a particle size of possibly less than 10 microns to physically liberate gold using either a vertical or horizontal stirred mill consisting of rotating stirrers within a stationary mill shell to impart kinetic energy to a fine media charge (usually sand).

Figure 5: Ultra fine Milling – Flow sheet

Xstrata Technology’s IsaMill, a horizontal stirred mill is one of the types used for ultra-fine grinding. The mill product is then treated in a conventional cyanidation CIL plant to recover the gold. Ultrafine grinding requires a different milling action than found in a conventional ball mill, due to the fine nature of the grinding media required. In most ultrafine grinding mills, an impeller is used to impart momentum to the media charge. Media is agitated through stirring, and the resulting turbulent mixing overcomes the tendency of fine media to centrifuge.


Abrasion is the major breakage mechanism in a stirred mill. The common aspects of a stirred mill are a central shaft and a series of impellers attached to the shaft. The

presence of very fine inclusions of gold in the order of 10 micron and the possibility of some surface oxidation of the sulphide minerals may improve in gold recovery from coarser ground feed.

ä ALbION PROCESSThe Albion process uses ulfrafine grinding in stirred mills of the sulphide concentrate produced from flotation to produce a highly activated, finely ground concentrate at low energy inputs. The finely ground concentrate is then leached with oxygen at atmospheric pressure in conventional agitated tanks. The first stage of the Albion Process is fine grinding of the concentrate. Most sulphide minerals cannot be leached under normal atmospheric pressure conditions. The process of ultrafine grinding results in a high degree of strain being introduced into the sulphide mineral lattice. After the concentrate has been finely ground, the slurry is then leached in agitated vessels, and oxygen is introduced to the leach slurry to oxidise the sulphide minerals. The agitated leaching vessels are designed by Xstrata and are known as the Albion Leach Reactor. The Albion Leach Reactor is agitated using dual hydrofoil impellers and oxygen is introduced to the leach slurry at supersonic velocity to improve mass transfer efficiency and ensure efficient oxidation of the sulphides.

Figure 6: Albion Process – Flow sheet

ä PRESSuRE OXIDATIONPressure Oxidation is a high intensity process to oxidise sulphides in autoclaves before treatment in a conventional oxide gold treatment plant.

During this process, the sulphides are oxidised by pure oxygen at an elevated temperature and pressure in an aqueous slurry. This breaks the sulphides down to a solution phase consisting of metal sulphate compounds and sulphuric acid. The gold locked in the original sulphide mineral is

completely liberated, allowing very high gold recovery to be achieved when the product is treated with cyanidation.

Figure 7: Pressure Oxidation– Flow sheet

ä bIOXThe Biological oxidation (BIOX®) process uses bacteria to oxidise sulphides in large agitated tanks before treatment in a conventional oxide gold treatment plant.

Figure 8: BIOX Process – Flow sheet

The process utilises a mixed population of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans, Leptospirillum ferrooxidans, Acidithiobacillus caldus, Leptospirillum ferriphilum and Ferroplasma acidiphilum to break down the sulphide mineral matrix thereby liberating the occluded gold for subsequent cyanidation. Due to the possession of a chemolithotrophic mode of metabolism, these bacteria are able to oxidize gold-bearing sulphide ores and concentrates under controlled conditions. The washed BIOX® product is


treated in a conventional cyanidation plant from which the gold is finally recovered.

ä AIR ROASTINGRoasting in an oxidising atmosphere, to produce a cyanide leach amenable porous calcine, has traditionally been the most commonly applied oxidative pre-treatment process for refractory gold ores. This process involves a thermal gas-solid reaction during which sulphides and sometimes organic carbon are oxidised to SO2 and carbon dioxide (CO2) at temperatures between 500 deg C and 700 deg C.

Figure 9: Roasting – Flow sheet

ä COMPARISONA comparison of refractory ore processes is presented below,

Figure 10: Refractory Ore Process - Comparison

8. CONCLuSIONA processing plant costs many millions of rupees to build and operate. The success of this expenditure relies on the assays of a few small samples. Correct sampling and sample

processing practices are critical to accurate delineation of ore resources as well as the evaluation and control of subsequent processing operations from mining through to delivery of the final product. Decisions affecting millions of rupee are made on the basis of a small fraction of the bulk of the ore body. It is therefore very important that this small fraction is as representative as possible of the bulk material. Mineralogical information must be considered in conjunction with the metallurgical testwork program results to ensure that appropriate processing methods are evaluated and that the optimum processing technology and flowsheet methods are selected and incorporated into the final plant design.

References & Suggested Readings1. Joe Zhou, Bruce Jago and Chris Martin, SGS Lakefield Research

Limited, “Establishing the Process Mineralogy of Gold Ores”,SGS Technical Bulletin.

2. D. Lunt , T. Weeks, GRD Minproc, “Process flowsheet selection”, Developments in Mineral Processing Vol 15,MD Adams, Elsevier.

3. John Rogans, Kemix (Pty) Ltd, “Activated carbon in gold Recovery”4. S. Ellis, Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines, “Ultra Fine Grinding - A

Practical Alternative to Oxidative Treatment of Refractory Gold Ores”5. S.L. Chryssoulis,J. McMullen, “Mineralogical investigation of gold

ores”, Developments in Mineral Processing Vol 15,MD Adams, Elsevier.

6. S. Mashaba, G. F. Ndlovu, and J. Buys,MINTEK, “Comparison of various pre-treatment process options for gold recovery from a sulphide refractory ore”.

7. M.I. Jeffrey, P.l. Breuer,Monash University, ‘The cyanide leaching of gold in solutions containing sulfide”.

8. A. Laplante, S. Gray, Gekko Systems Pty Ltd, “Advances in gravity gold technology”, Developments in Mineral Processing Vol 15,MD Adams, Elsevier.

9. W. Stange, “The process design of gold leaching and carbon-in-pulp circuits”, The Journal of The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

10. Mark Aylmore, Ashraf Jaffer, Bateman Engineering Pty Ltd , “Evaluating process options for treating some refractory ores”.

11. M. N. Lehmann, S. O’leary, J. G. Dunn, Curtin University of Technology, An evaluation of pretreatments to increase gold recovery from a refractory ore containing arsenopyrite and pyrrhotite.

oBituaryShri K Raju (LM.NO:1529/TN) started his career in Coal India limited Bishrampur in 1974. To be with his family, he shifted to ACC Jamul, Bhilai in 1985. He was superannuated from service in 2012 after 27 years of service in ACC Ltd. After retirement, he settled in his hometown in Kerala. He passed away on 20th September 2018.

All the members of MEAI join to condole his sad demise and convey their profound condolences to his wife and other members of his family.

Shri K Raju


mEai NEwsDELHI CHAPTERHalf-day ConferenceMEAI Delhi Chapter organized a half-day conference on Contemporary Mining Issues at The Marigold, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi on 16th November 2018. The conference primarily focussed on the consequences of the recent MMDR Amendments and industry experiences thus far after the amendments came into force.

The conference was well attended with around 50 delegates, witnessed intense deliberations, and engaged interactions with the bureaucrats invited to preside over the sessions. There were 2 sessions, namely the inaugural session with a keynote presentation by Mr S Vijay Kumar, Senior Fellow TERI and Ex-Secretary (Mines) and the technical session with five speakers highlighting different aspects of the MMDR Amendments. M/S Dalmia Bharat Cements Ltd and M/S Neyvelli Lignite Corporation Ltd. sponsored the Conclave.

The inaugural session was presided by Mr Arun Kothari, National President MEAI, Mr Anil Bhandari, President Delhi Chapter, Mr Deepak Gupta, Secretary Delhi Chapter, Mr R K Sharma, Secretary General FIMI and the Keynote Speaker Mr S Vijay Kumar. Mr Pankaj Satija, Council Member welcomed all the delegates and dignitaries and called upon the respective speakers to address the gathering.

Inaugural session in progress: Mr Pankaj Satija welcoming guests

Mr Anil bhandari set the context of the Conference by mentioning that India is a mineral rich country and has favourable geological potential, which is yet to be fully explored, assessed and extracted. Mining and Exploration companies were eagerly waiting for the mining policies of the new government to revive the struggling mining industry. The legislative reforms introduced by the government in the form of MMDR (Amendment) Act 2015, effective from 12th January, 2015 was only able to remove the log-jam and improve transparency. He also highlighted the major features of the Amendment Act and some of the resultant pitfalls:

• Miningleaseswillnowbegrantedforatermof50yearsand the mineral concessions will be granted through auction process

• Leasessograntedwon’tberenewedaftertheirexpiry

• The Central Government will prescribe the terms and conditions for grant of mineral concessions through competitive bidding

• ReconnaissancePermitswillhenceforthbegrantedonnon-exclusive basis

• However,thepolicyprovedtobeadampenerasrouteto green field exploration paused. All RP applications made prior to the Act deemed ineligible; Provision for grant of non-exclusive RPs for all minerals; No seamless transfer to PL cum ML or ML.

• TheCentralGovernmenthastheauthoritytoreservemines for specific end uses at its discretion.

• Auction of mining leases has also not been entirelysuccessful. Very few such leases have come into production. Imports are increasing.

• Processof transferofLeasesalreadygrantedduringFCFS regime has become very cumbersome and not in-line with “ease of doing business”. Even transfers within Group Companies is now restrictive.

• District Mineral Foundation is to be set up in eachmineral bearing district for local area development and National Mineral Exploration Trust for regional and detailed exploration in the country.

Mr Arun Kothari then spoke at length about the status of the Indian Mining Industry and presented a brief on the working of the Mining Engineers Association through its different Chapters in its endeavour to make the sector more progressive and attractive.

Mr RK Sharma highlighted the setback to exploration as the major pitfall from the MMDR Amendment and added that the country needs to prioritise it’s efforts towards exploration of the deep seated, strategic and technology minerals instead of simply revisiting strategy and policy towards revenue maximisation from the bulk and surficial minerals.

The Keynote Presentation by Mr S Vijay Kumar dealt with the need for aligning the Mining Sector with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in order to usher in a golden period for the industry. He highlighted that the Mining sector has an important role in the country’s sustainable economic development, both as an engine of growth and as a revenue source to fund socio-economic development. Therefore, he advised the following:

• Itisnecessarytoseehowthegovernanceframeworkfor the mining sector, particularly post amendment of the MMDR Act 1957, aligns to the goal of sustainable development in general and the SDGs in particular.

• ItisnotonlyimportanttoseewhichSDGsareachievable(or advanced) through activities of the sector, but also


which SDGs are adversely impacted and what can be done to reduce this impact.

• Infact,thisshouldbeageneralapproachtoallsectoralpolicies of the Government. In the case of mining, there is an advantage as the “Sustainable Development Framework (SDF) 2011” brought out by the Ministry is perfectly in accord with the approach of the SDGs.

The Keynote Presentation also highlighted a few specific areas of concern pertaining to the MMDR Amendment Act in light of the SDGs:

1. Auction of resources

• Since the techno-economic feasibility of extractionhas not been adequately established, the valuation for purposes of auction may be highly subjective, with possibility of “Winner’s curse” particularly when end use is specified.

• Given the price volatility of the commodities, auctionmay squeeze margins, leading to suboptimal mining; low grade and secondary minerals may, in some cases, not be properly exploited, quite contrary to the spirit of SDG 12.2 which speaks of “efficient use of natural resources”, and SDG 8.4 which advocates “resource efficiency”; not to speak of SDG 12.5 which relates to ‘reducing waste generation”.

2. Fixed Period 50 year MLs

• Thismaylead to suboptimal mining and cherry picking of best grades by the current incumbent (affecting SDG 12.2 of resource efficiency).

• This is likely to interrupt orderly mine closure sincethe entity responsible for opening a large mine may not be responsible for closing the mine at the end of the extraction (SDG 12.4 on environmentally sound management of waste throughput life-cycle);

• Aligningpost-closure landusewith localcommunityaspirations is a key component of the SDF and conforms to SDG 15.1 relating to “sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems” and SDG 15.3, which advocates moving towards a “land degradation-neutral” world.

3. NERP gives no rights to PL/ML

• This will of course severely discourage exploration for minerals notwithstanding the funding through a National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET). Exploration using Trust Funds will be constrained by the amount of funds available.

• Thecumbersomeprocessesinherentinsuchaprocesswill give premium to “accountability” over “risk-reward”, reducing success rate, and impacting the supply-pipe of deposits ready for exploitation.

• Another aspect of inadequate exploration will be suboptimal decisions with regard to mining in ecologically fragile areas to secure supply in the absence of choice (impacting SDG 15 on sustainability of ecosystems). Fuller exploration may have revealed other deposits, more easily accessible, or with less adverse impacts.

• Thefactthatthesefundsarepublicfundswillresultintheir being deployed for discovery of the low-hanging fruit rather than high–risk and high-cost ventures that could result in the discovery of world-class deposits or deep-seated deposits. It could adversely affect our minerals security particularly for the new age “Technology Metals” and “Energy Critical Minerals” which are required for applications in renewable energy, energy storage etc.

• OurabilitytoadvanceSDG7.2“increasesubstantiallythe share of renewable energy in the global energy mix” as well as on SDGs relating to use of technologies to increase resource–use and energy-use efficiency may be seriously compromised in case exploration funding does not respond to market forces.

4. Non-level playing field• PSUs and PSU JVs are exempt from auction (fixed

additional payments) and are entitled to renew their MLs; this will create a non-level playing field, distort the sector and reduce incentives for efficiency (SDG 8.4 and 12.2) and new/innovative technologies (SDGs 8.2, 8.3).

• Itwouldalsoappear from12.8ofNMEP thatprivateexploration agencies engaged for exploration through NMET can also bid for the deposit. This will clearly lead inefficiencies at multiple levels caused by potential for data asymmetry (SDG 8.4 and 12.2).

5. District Mineral Fund (DMF)• TheDMFisawelcomestepprovidedtheFoundation

prepares and executes systematically prepared plans (based on a local needs assessment) in a transparent manner in full consultation with all stakeholders including local communities (almost all SDGs are potentially impacted, particularly SDG 16.6 “transparent and accountable institutions” and SDG 16.7 “inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making”).

• ThePMKKKYisausefulframework,butitneedstoberevised keeping in view the SDG framework in the local context, as well as the SDF for the mining sector (SDG 17.14 “policy coherence”)

6. Governance• WhiletheMMDRamendmentseekstoaddressissues

of transparency and fair valuation it has not addressed


the following key issues responsible for the problems of the sector:

ä Regulation: there is a need for independent National and State-level sectoral regulators and dispute resolution mechanisms with adequate expertise.

ä Capacity: capacity in IBM, GSI, State DMGs and other institutions of the sector need to be built to meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities.

Mr Vijay Kumar summed up the presentation on an important note by saying that ‘Mining can be either a source of revenue for funding national socio-economic development plans OR an engine of growth for the economy’.

Mr Deepak Gupta summed up the proceedings of the inaugural session and presented a formal vote of thanks.

The Technical Session of the Conference was presided by Mr Anindya Sinha, Project Advisor, Ministry of Coal; Mr Prithul Kumar, Director, Ministry of Mines and Mr Pankaj Satija. This session had the following insightful presentations:

1. Concerns emanating from the MMDR Amendment Act 2015: Focus on Exploration by Ankan Mitra, Tata Steel Ltd

2. MMDR Amendment Act: Regulatory Challenges by Arindam Mukherjee, Dalmia Bharat Group

3. Mineral Exploration Policy and Legal Framework: A Proposed Bidding Model by TRP Singh, EIL

4. Sustainability of Supply beyond 2020 by RK Sinha, Ex CG, IBM

5. Cost of Doing Mining by V Satish, Tata Steel Ltd

Technical Session II in progress

Dignitaries off the dais attending the conference

Mr Ankan Mitra focussed on the concerns pertaining to exploration and highlighted that the proposition of exploration virtually being ‘nationalised’ because of the MMDR Amendment Act 2015 and it is the biggest obstacle for the industry. Moreover, the deletion of the provision for seamless transition from RP to PL to ML is the biggest dis-incentive for investments in exploration. The failure of the contractual model of exploration through the NMEP was also highlighted. Following suggestions were made to the Government in the presentation:

• Take initiatives to encourage participation of Indianand Global Juniors and Mining Majors to participate in India’s exploration and mining

• Allow auction of mineral assets from exploration tomining. Do not break the mineral value spectrum starting from pre to post discovery, right up to the production stages in order to ensure optimization of resource utilisation

• Create a structured process of recurring mineralauctions in all the mineral potential blocks within the OGP, which are in the freehold areas

• Clearly demarcate Go/No–Go Zones for mining andfacilitate grant of exploration of permits

• Ensure online availability of all the available geo-logical, geomorphological, geochemical, geophysical, exploration and cadastral database and reports from government agencies and private relinquished areas to all the potential mineral sector bidders at nominal costs

• Provideforsecurityof“explorationtenure”.Toovercomeprocedural issues, grant exploration permits for at least 4 years.

• Conduct auctions for Exploration in two slots everyyear with the time line:

ä Application and initial bid offer: Month of Jan and July

ä Application processing and notification: 1st to 15th Feb and 1st to 15th August

ä Complete bidding process in a maximum of 45 days

ä Bid execution by the bid winner: 1st Mar to 30th June and 1st September to 31st December

ä All blocks relinquished or in freehold can be rebid during next auction

• Pre-settimelineandastructuredframeworkforeasierpermit approval process and land access, during the exploration phase

• Freedomtotransferanexplorationlicense

• Allowbidderswithin-houseexplorationandcommoditygeology specialists, the freedom for selection of auction blocks from India’s entire Obvious Geological Potential


area. Do not have any restriction on the total area, which a bidder should bid for exploration block

• Enable a minimum exploration expenditurecommitment from the exploration companies and a statutory relinquishment process of exploration area for exploration blocks

• Allocate blocks comparable to global standards sothat sustainable mining activities can be economically carried out

• Taxincentivesforexplorationexpenditure• Create reporting standards to international norms

(JORC), create norms which could interest capital markets into exploration funding

• Government’sroleshouldbelimitedtofacilitation: ä Data dissemination (free of cost) ä Conceptual studies through NCMT / GSI

Surveys ä Facilitate permitting process ä Creation of world-class exploration infrastructure• Governmentsectorexpenditureinexploration(through

NMET, conventional GSI / MECL / State agency exploration and the newly conceived NCMT) should focus on

ä Acquiring higher quality baseline geoscientific information

ä Testing conceptual targets in geological domains which still have not been included in GSI’s obvious geological potential list, though holds enormous exploration potential - Lower and middle Himalayan region, Western Ghats, Thar desert, Deccan Traps, Shield areas, and areas still not considered part of OGP.

Mr Arindam Mukherjee elucidated on making mining the engine for powering India’s growth and stressed on ensuring the practise of “Mine in India for Make in India”. The following facts and suggestions were brought forth in his presentation:• Auction:The law governing the surface and sub-soil

should be one.• Levies&Taxes:TransferLevytothetuneof80%needs

a re-look. Transfer of ML also needs a re-look. Various Taxes/Cess of States on Mineral land and minerals needs to be done away with.

• Value of Estimated Resources: Value of EstimatesResources (VER) is calculated based on the minable reserves available in the mineral blocks. It should be based on the total minerals mined out in the entire tenure of the lease.

• AverageSalePrice:AverageSalePriceofmineralsareannounced by IBM based on the returns submitted by the miners. For some minerals the lower graded are priced higher - the anomaly needs to be corrected.

• Royalty: Double Taxation Issue needs to be resolved.

Mr TRP Singh presented ideal bidding models for auctioning exploration licenses. The following proposition was suggested as a way forward for attracting private investment in exploration within the framework of auction and bidding as the mode of grant of concessions.

• CASE I: Where no past data on mineral occurrences are available: Pre- qualification criteria for grant of exploration rights must be limited to experience/ capabilities in exploration in the relevant field and may not include technical/ financial capabilities in mining.

Main bidding Criteria: The Bidders will have freedom to sell the exploration report in an open bidding process. The Bidders offering highest share of sale proceeds to the Govt. may be declared as the winner to get the exploration license. At the end of exploration , when the winning agency offers for sale the exploration report, the sale also must be through transparent bidding process in consultation with the Govt. Pre-qualification criteria for bidding by the winning agency will include technical/ financial capabilities. Bidders should be able to convert the exploration to a mining project. The agency winning the rights of exploration report will have mining rights and the winning criteria will be maximization of free equity to the Govt. in a joint venture mining project. The JV model of the mining project will have the management control by the winning agency and not the Govt. nominated agency. For the Govt. it will be limited to financial participation.

• CASE II - Where reasonable level of information about the mineral deposit are available (at least of inferred Resource category of CRIRSCO code to be upgraded to indicated resource): Pre- qualification criteria for grant of mining rights must include technical/financial capability for detailed exploration as well as mining.

Main bidding Criteria: Bidder offering highest free equity to the Govt. agency for development of mining project in a JV model will be the successful bidder for mining rights.

Mr RK Sinha, Ex CG IBM, gave an insightful brief into the exact mineral scenario, pre and post 2020, with the expiry of merchant mining leases and presented meticulously compiled mineral wise and state wise scenarios. He highlighted the facts & figures of the problems emanating from closure of mines in Goa and suggested key measures for the Govt to take to ensure sustainable mining beyond 2020.

Mr V Satish presented on the concern of the rising Cost of Doing Business in Mining with the requirements of Auction Commitment, DMF and NMET over and above the high


Royalty Rates. He presented elaborate slides capturing the comparitive rates of effective taxation amongst mineral rich geographies with India clearly leading the pack. The rate of taxation post the high auction commitments were also presented and deliberated. The crux of the presentation was advocacy for rationalisation of the tax rate, avoiding double taxation through royalty over royalty and for rationalising the penal rate of interest chargeable under the MCDR.

MEAI meeting with French Trade & Investment Commission at Jeevan bharati building, Tata Steel, DelhiA team from French Trade & Investment Commission, known as Business France had a meeting with New Delhi Chapter on December 4, 2018 to understand Indian mining industry and explore opportunities to promote business between French and Indian companies. Business France is a French government organization and operates from the French Embassy in India. Mr Brault Edgar and Mr Durlabh Maharishi represented French Embassy.

(L to R): Mr AK Bhandari, Mr Deepak Gupta, Mr Durlabh Maharishi, Mr Brault Edgar, Mr Pankaj Satija

The meeting started with a quick round of introduction followed by a presentation on Indian Mineral Industry. Mr Bhandari welcomed the delegates and Mr Apoorv Shukla made the presentation. It was a good interactive session with sharing of mining industry status in India and Europe. Discussion revolved around the following topics:

• Status of India in terms of Mineral wealth andextraction

• Historical events shaping the current Indian MineralIndustry and way forward

• Scenario of Energymix on long run considering thegrowth of Renewables and requirement of Coal

• ExplosiveusageinIndiaandFutureofFrenchExplosivemanufacturers in India

• StatusofFrenchMiningIndustry

Mr Deepak Gupta presented mementos to both the French delegates whereas Mr Pankaj Satija Summed up the discussions with thank you note.

Mr Deepak Gupta presenting a memento to Mr Brault Edgar

VERAVAL - PORbANDAR CHAPTERAnnual General Meeting, Technical paper Session & Silver Jubilee FunctionAnnual General Meeting, Technical paper presentation & Silver Jubilee Function of Veraval-Porbander Chapter was held on December 9, 2018 at Hotel Lords Inn, Somnath, Gujarat. Over 95 members along with their family and children attended the function. The function, which includes the Annual General Body Meeting, Election of new body, Technical Paper Session, and Silver Jubilee Function was conducted.

Session - IAnnual General Body Meeting for 2018 of Veraval – Porbander Chapter started at 6:00 pm in the conference hall of the hotel. The meeting was presided by Shri A K Sharma, Chapter Chairman, Shri Manish Kumar Yadav, Chapter Secretary and Shri Kumar Rajan, Chapter Jt. Secretary cum treasurer along with Shri A K Jain, senior member of the Chapter. The Meeting started with welcome address. Shri Kumar Rajan presented the Annual Report of the Chapter along with Accounts details and explained various activities performed during the year. Shri A K Jain shared the Members’ list and new members’ details of the Chapter. Shri Manish Kumar Yadav in his speech focused more on membership drive. He also briefed about mining and CSR activities being done in Saurashtra & Kutch region.

Election of VP Chapter for 2018-2020Shri M C Upadhayay, M/s GHCL was nominated as pro-term speaker for the session. Following members were unanimously elected for the new committee for the year 2018-2020.

Shri Arun Kumar Sharma - Chairman

Shri Manish Kumar Yadav - Vice Chairman

Shri A. K. Jain - Secretary

Shri C. M. Dwivedi - Jt. Secretary

Shri Kumar Rajan - Treasurer

Executive Committee members:1. Shri Vivek Khosla (Ultra Tech Cements Ltd.)2. Shri Harendra Dayal (Ambuja Cements Ltd.)3. Shri Babu Rayali (Ultra Tech Cements Ltd.)


4. Shri P K Deshpande (Saurashtra Cements Ltd.)5. Shri Arjun Singh ( DCW Ltd.)6. Shri K K Choudhary (Ashapure Minechem Ltd.)7. Shri D K Singh (Saukem, Nirma Ltd.)8. Shri Anil Nigam (Shree Digvijay Cement Co. Ltd)9. Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Gujarat Sidhee Cement Ltd.)

Technical Paper SessionThree technical papers were presented in the session. First was paper was presented by Shri Prabhat Prasad, Mining Engineer from Ambuja Cements Ltd, on review of Draft MMR-2018. He thoroughly reviewed & explained the differences between the existing and draft MMR. Shri Rajesh Tiwari, M/s GHCL, presented the second paper on new innovation in Mining – Online crushing – An experience of GHCL Ltd. Online crusher and its working was shown by playing a video. Shri A K Jain presented the third paper on Challenges in the Mining Industry - Special focus on surface rights in Saurashtra region.

Session IIShri Nitin Sagwan, IAS, SDM, Veraval, was the Chief Guest of the function. The function started with the welcoming of the Chief Guest Shri Nitin Sagwan, followed by prayer. It was indeed a great opportunity for the Chapter that a young and dynamic bureaucrat attended the function and the critical

mining issues related to surface rights could be presented to him. Then Chapter Chairman Shri AK Sharma delivered his welcome speech and highlighted the present situation of mining industries in the Saurashtra region. He emphasised the importance of enrolling new members in MEAI and extending support to mining industry. Shri Amol Dhomne presented glimpses of 25 years of VP Chapter and showed many photographs of Silver Jubliee Journey.

Chief Guest Shri Nitin Sangwan, IAS , along with the members and families of the Veraval - Porbandar Chapter


VERAVAL-PORbANDAR CHAPTEROn 1st November 2018, “Indian Mining Day” was celebrated by the Chapter. The program started by lightening of lamp by the Chapter Chairman Shri Arun Kumar Sharma. The Chairman briefly shared his views on the importance of Mining Day celebrations. Those present on the occasion also shared their views. Shri A K Jain and Shri Kumar Rajan presented a paper on “Future of Mining in India – Views for Vision 2040”. A light refreshment was served during the program.

Wide circulation was undertaken by the Chapter regarding Essay writing, Slogan writing and Poster making on the occasion of Indian Mining Day, in line with the circular received from MEAI Headquarters. Witnessed a very good participation in each category from the family members of mining fraternity. Entries from Ms Lavni Jain, Ms Ananya kalamkar, Ms Rishika Rajan, Ms Shambhavi Dayal, Mr Jaimeen Bambhaniya, Mr Shiwang Shrivastava, Ms Parul Sharma, Mr Akash Sharma, Mr Kishan Pandya & Mr Pravin Khokale were selected. A certificate of participation along with a token gift will be presented to all the selected entries during the ensuing Silver Jubilee celebration of the Chapter.

A section of enthusiastic participants

Selected Posters on Indian Mining Day Celebration – VP Chapter

iNdiaN miNiNg day - 2018 cElEBratioNsIndian Mining Day: ZP High School, APThe Indian Mining Day – 2018 was celebrated under the direction of Sri Koneru V. Rao, former Secretary General, MEAI ( 2013 -17 ) in the Z.P High School , Kokilampadu , Krishna Dist, Andra Pradesh. On this occasion, a video was screened showing the importance of minerals, responsible mining and sustainable development to the students. Essay writing and elocution competitions were held for the 9th and 10th class students on the "Necessity of Minerals for Our Daily Life” in Telugu language.

Of the 15 students participated in each event, 5 top students were selected for presenting mementos and other utility materials. Sri Ravi Kumar, Faculty of school, thanked MEAI and Sri KV Rao for giving opportunity to his school to host Exhibition of Minerals & Ores in last month and elocution and essay writing competitions this month to spread knowledge on mining and minerals, which were hitherto unknown subjects to students.

Winner of Essay writing competition receiving Memento and gifts

Presenting a Memento and gifts to winner of Elocution competition


NamEs approvEd By thE mEai couNcil for thE pEriod 2019-21The MEAI National Council met at Jodhpur, Rajasthan and approved the following nominees for the Vice President-III, Jt. Secretary cum Treasurer and 28 Council Members’ positions for the term 2019-21, in its 6th Council Meeting held on December 15, 2018.

Names approved by the Council Chapter Position

Shri O.P. Gupta Rajasthan-Jaipur Vice President - III

Shri K.U Rao Hyderabad Jt. Secy. cum Treasurer

1. Shri P.K. Satpathy Bailadila Council Member

2. Shri D.B. Sundar Raman Barajamda Council Member

3. Shri A.B. Panigrahi4. Dr Abani Samal

BhubaneswarBhubaneswar

Council MemberCouncil Member

5. Prof Arvind Kumar Mishra Dhanbad Council Member

6. Shri T.N. Gunaseelan Kolkata Council Member

7. Shri Pankaj Kumar Satija8. Prof B.B. Dhar9. Shri Ravindra Kumar Sharma

New DelhiNew DelhiNew Delhi

Council MemberCouncil MemberCouncil Member

10. Shri Dileep Kumar Saxena11. Shri Rajendra Singh Rathore

Rajasthan-JaipurRajasthan-Jaipur

Council Member Council Member

12. Dr S.K. Parihar13. Prof Sushil Bhandari

Rajasthan-JodhpurRajasthan-Jodhpur


14. Shri Maheem Kachhawaha15. Shri L.S. Shekhawat

Rajasthan-UdaipurRajasthan-Udaipur


16. Shri R.H. Sawkar Bangalore Council Member

17. Shri M.S. Raju18. Shri P. Srinivasa Rao

Bellary-HospetBellary-Hospet


19. Dr N.K. Nanda20. Dr M.S. Venkataramayya

HyderabadHyderabad


21. Shri M. Sathish Kumar Singareni Council Member

22. Shri M. James23. Shri P. Balamadeswaran

Tamil NaduTamil Nadu


24. Dr K. Srihari Visakhapatnam Council Member

25. Shri Dhananjay Kumar Ahmedabad Council Member

26. Shri Rachappa Belgaum Council Member

27. Shri D.R. Vaze Goa Council Member

28. Shri Manish Kumar Yadav Veraval-Porbandar Council Member

Arun Kothari, President MEAI


MEAI

20 January 2019: National Seminar on Mines Safety Management & Sustainable Development (SMART), at Dasarathi Auditorium, Dr MCR HRD Institute, Hyderabad, Telangana State. Contact: Sri S. Krishnamurthy, Secy. General, MEAI and Convenor of National Seminar Mob: 96187 43628, email: [email protected]) & Sri V. Lakshmi Narayana, Organizing Secretary, Mob: 87903 16296

13-14 April 2019: National Seminar on Digitalisation and E – Governance in Mining Industry. Organised by Rajasthan Chapter - Udaipur in association with Department of Mines & Geology and College of Technology and Engineering at Udaipur. Contact: Secretary, Rajasthan Chapter-Udaipur

INDIA

8-10 January 2019: Skill Development Programme on IMPROVING MINE EFFICIENCY & SAFETY WITH ADVANCED bLASTING TECHNOLOGIES, at Udaipur. For details contact: Prof Sushil Bhandari at (0291) 2624063, 2430189; email: [email protected]

22-24 January 2019: India Steel 2019, Mumbai Exhibition Center, Mumbai. Contact: Ms. Gunjan Saxena, Executive, FICCI. Tel:+911123487271, Email: [email protected]

21-24 February 2019: GMME India trade show, Regional’s largest International expo for minerals, mining & construction machinery. University Sports Pavillion, Udaipur, India.

25-26 July 2019: Mining Investment India Conference and Exhibition (MIICE), Crowne Plaza, New Delhi Okhla, India. Contact: Spire Events Pte Ltd. 2019 Mining Investment India, 24 Peck Seah Street#02-09 Nehsons Building, Singapore. Phone: +65 6717 6018, Email: [email protected], Web: https://www.spire-events.com/

2 - 8 March 2020: 36th International Geological Congress, Delhi, India. Contact: Geological Survey of India, C-II, Pushpa Bhavan, Madangir Road, NewDelhi-110062. Phone: +91 1129965750, +91 1126057035, Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

AbROAD

4-7 February 2019: Investing in Africa Mining indaba, Cape Town, South Africa. Bojanala House, 90 Protea Rd, Chislehurston, Sandton, 2196, South Africa. Mining Indaba LLC USA. Phone: +27 11 895 3000

15-16 February 2019: National Seminar on Gold Mining in India: The way forward, Dr. Thimmaiah Institute of

Technology Oorgaum, Kolar Gold Fields. Organsied by Geological Society of India, Bengaluru. Contact: No. 63, 12th Cross, Basappa Layout, Gavipuram P.O., PB No. 1922, Bangalore-560004 Telephone: 91 80 22422943/ 918026613352; Email: [email protected]. Website: www.geosocindia.org

24-27 February 2019: Society of Mining Engineers (SME) Annual Conference & Expo, The Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St, Denver, CO 80202 United States. The 2019 SME Annual Conference & Expo and CMA 121st National Western Mining Conference is the only conference dedicated to all disciplines of mining engineering. http://www.smeannualconference.com

3-6 March 2019: Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada PDAC 2019, Toronto, Canada. Venue: Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 222 Bremner Blvd, Toronto, Ontario M5V 3L9 Canada. Phone: (416) 585-8000. Website: http://www.pdac.ca/

26 March 2019: Mining Investment Asia, Singapore. Contact Information: Spire Events Pte Ltd. 2019 Mining Investment Asia, Michael Lim, Speaking, registration & general queries, 24 Peck Seah Street#02-09 Nehsons Building, Singapore. Phone: +65 6717 6018, Email: [email protected]

9-11 April 2019: First International Conference on Mining Geomechanical Risk 2019, Perth, Australia. Venue: Novotel Perth Langley, 221 Adelaide Terrace, Perth, WA 6000 Australia. Phone: +61 8 9221 1200. Website: https://mgr2019.com/

10-12 April 2019: Mongolia Mining 2019 International Mining & Oil Expo - 9th Edition, buyant ukhaa Sport Palace, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Contact Information: Mongolia Mining Expo Organizers, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Phone: +976 11344010, Email: [email protected]

8-10 May 2019: 22nd International Seminar on Paste, Thickened and Filtered Tailings 2019, Cape Town, South Africa. Venue: The Westin Cape Town, Convention Square, Lower Long St Cape Town, 8000 South Africa. Website: https://www.paste2019.co.za/

18-25 May 2019: ALTA 2019 Nickel-Cobalt-Copper, uranium-REE, Gold-PM, In Situ Recovery, Lithium Conference & Exhibition, Pan Pacific Perth, 207 Adelaide Terrace, Perth, Australia. Contact Information: ALTA Metallurgical Services – ALTA Allison Taylor, Conference & Exhibition Manager, PO Box 1211, Blackburn North, Australia. Phone: +61 411692442, Email: [email protected]

confErEncES, SEminarS, workSHoPS Etc.

Printed and Published by S. Krishnamurthy, Secretary General, Mining Engineers’ Association of India,

on behalf of Mining Engineers’ Association of India and printed at Deepu Printers, Raghava Ratna Towers, Chirag Ali Lane, Nampally, Hyderabad - 500 001.

and published at F-608 & 609, ‘A’ Block, VI Floor, Raghavaratna Towers, Chirag Ali Lane, Abids, Hyderabad - 500 001. Editor: Dr. P.V. Rao

DateofPublication:26-12-2018Regd.withRNIR.No.71519/99;No.ofPages:36+Cover4DateofPosting:29/30ofeverymonthPostalRegd.No.H-HD-GPO/024/2018-2020

Mining Engineers’ Association of India Flat-608 & 609, Raghava Ratna Towers, A-Block, VI Floor, Chirag Ali Lane, Abids, Hyderabad - 500001Ph.: 040 - 66339625, 23200510, Email: [email protected] Website: www.meai.org


Vol. 20No. 6January - 2019 MoNthly

Price `100/-

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DateofPublication:26-12-2018 Regd.withRNIR.No.71519/99;No.ofPages:36+Cover4 DateofPosting:29/30ofeverymonth PostalRegd.No.H-HD-GPO/024/2018-2020

Mining Engineers’ Association of IndiaFlat-608 & 609, Raghava Ratna Towers, A-Block, VI Floor, Chirag Ali Lane, Abids, Hyderabad - 500001

Ph.: 040 - 66339625, 23200510, Email: [email protected] Website: www.meai.org


Vol. 20 No. 6 January - 2019MoNthly

Price `100/-

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