‘Mining cannot be done without disturbing the environment’

— Rana Som, Chairman & Managing Director, NMDC Ltd NMDC Ltd is the country's single-largest producer and exporter of iron ore. Apart from producing about 30 million tpa of iron ore, the navratna public sector enterprise is also involved in the exploration of other minerals like copper, rock phosphate, limestone, magnesite and diamond, to name a few. Rana Somspeaks on a range of issues related to mining in India in this exclusive interview with Sandeep Menezes.  How can the government ensure that mining and ecological concerns go hand in hand? Today, technology is very advanced but one thing is very clear-you cannot do mining without disturbing the ecology or environment. If somebody says it is possible, it's not. The solution lies in ensuring that the ecology or environment is disturbed to the minimum. It is also important that whatever disturbance takes place is restored. If we do it, then coexistence is possible. The small and unorganised sectors accounts for bulk of iron ore mining in India. How can this segment be made to invest in eco-friendly technologies? Technology is dependant on policy which regulates the size of mines. It also determines the manner in which mining leases are distributed. This is very important. You rightly pointed out that it is not possible for small mining companies to implement the right type of technologies which can increase mining productivity, and preserve mines and environment. The recent floods in Queensland, Australia, have put pressure on iron ore exports and affected global iron ore prices. How do you see prices reacting to supply side pressure in near future? The supply side pressure has already taken place and iron ore prices have already increased. This is obvious since Australia is a major exporter of iron ore. Therefore, if the Queensland side area of Australia, which is a major mining area, is affected, it will have an impact. There is a view that government needs to incentivise value addition (fines into pellets) in iron ore exports that can be achieved by abolishing the 15 per cent export duty on iron ore pellets. There is a very strong case for this. The mining industry has been making representations but we have to wait and see what ultimately comes out of it. We must also remember that export duty is not only a restriction on exports; it is also a method of earning revenue. The government will have to examine this issue in total perspective. Mining projects are facing serious resistance from the local people.  We have two specific advantages- one advantage is our past. We have been in Chhattisgarh for a very long time and we have taken conscious and consistent decisions and implemented those decisions in respect of integrating all the development work keeping in mind the community and society at large. Our community development work is of such dimension; it is also done with sincerity and devotion. We have convinced the local people that NMDC exists not only as a company but also as a social unit to bring growth and development to local societies. As a PSU, we feel that development of local societies should be our motto; therefore, there is not much conflict between our business interest and social interest. What is NMDC's long-term vision?  NMDC is a mining company and it will primarily remain a mining company. If it remains in mining, it has to expand into mines. We are expanding geographically as well as product wise. We want to expand beyond iron ore and diamonds which we are mainly into today. We are expanding into coal, coking coal, magnesite, limestone, and others. Similarly, we are expanding geographically beyond India. In fact, our people are working very hard in five countries, namely Australia, USA, Russia, Mozambique, and Armenia. We are also working on value addition in steel and pelletisation; two pellet plants are expected to come. We expect that within the next four to five years we should have a turnover of more than 30,000 crore. Our manpower is expected to expand threefold during this period with around 15,000 to 20,000 people working in the company. Tell us about your plans to acquire more coal and iron ore assets overseas?  We are targeting a few iron ore mines in Australia and Armenia. We are also targeting some coal mines, mainly coking but also non-coking coal, in Russia, United States and Mozambique. For the third quarter, NMDC reported a 12 per cent increase in domestic sales of iron ore and a 40 per cent decline in exports. The quantity of our exports is very low. We export only 7 to 8 per cent of our total output. Therefore, a 40 per cent drop means that instead of 7 per cent we have exported around 5 per cent. We are not yet participating in the Chinese export market till now. We are mainly exporting to Japan and South Korea, under a long-term contract. This is the main reason that our exports are much less-we don't think that it will expand in future. Source: http://www.projectsmonitor.com/AIRPT/mining-cannot-be-done-without-disturbing-the-environment

                 

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