“Mining activity has started again in Bellary-Hospet area in Karnataka. We can say that now all the dirt of mining industries is cleaned and future seems to be bright,” said Narendrakumar Baldota, Chairman & Managing Director, MSPL Ltd.
Sharing his experience as a mine owner at the Mining Engineers’ Association of India (MEAI) meet on ‘Iron Ore Mining in India: Present Challenges and Future Prospects’, at Hospet, Bellary, Baldota said “It will be difficult for anybody to enter the mining Industry now and do fresh mining. Getting new leases is difficult, production capacity of all the mines have been restricted to 40 per cent.”
“The Bellary-Hospet sector, which was producing 35 million tonnes few years back, may not be able to produce more than 10 million tonnes in coming years,” he added.
Due to restricted production, burden of manpower on companies will increase. “Manpower will get a big hit, plant and machinery will have to be reduced. Exports will not be there for next two years,” he pointed out.
Speaking on challenges, Baldota said, “The key issue before us is how to reduce the manpower and improve productivity. Since the production cannot be increased we have to reduce our cost in the best possible way. That is the only way the mining industries in Bellary-Hospet sector will survive.”
“We in Bellary district have been doing mining for more than 60 years. The safety standards have improved a lot. I appreciate the role of DGMS. So long we were working manually; there were accidents in the mines. Today, all the mines are mechanized and using higher capacity machinery and tippers,” he said.
Currently, iron ore produced is sold through e-auction system and a transparent system has been created. Now perhaps there is no other way to curb possible illegal transportation of iron ore, said Baldota.
Appreciating the transparent transportation system, he said “for steel plants/pellet plants having captive mines should be exempted from e-auction to have continuous feed of consistent quality iron ore to them.”
The cost of production has increased tremendously in last few years and with increase in royalty rates and 15 per cent provision of the price for social activities mining has not remained an attractive business to do.
“What is required now is to allow the mines to produce more quantities as it will help the local steel industry to survive,” he said.