Mining Companies in India

Mining in India is an important economic activity which contributes significantly to the economy of India. The mining sector underwent modernization following the independence of India although minerals have been mined in the region since antiquity. The country exports a variety of mineralsfound in abundance its geographically diverse regionswhile it imports others not found in sufficient quantities within its geographical boundaries. Several techniques for mining are employed in the country and a significant part of the country lies unexplored for mineral wealth.

Following are some of the major mining companies in India

Bharat Aluminium Company

Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd. (BALCO) is an Indian aluminium company. It was in the public sector until 2001, when it was taken over by Vedanta Resources a company which is listed on the London stoke exchange
It came in the year 1965 as a Public Sector Undertaking. It is the first public sector enterprise in India which started producing aluminium in 1974. Till 2001, BALCO was a public sector enterprise owned 100% by Government of India. The main achievement of BALCO is that they developed a special aluminium alloys for Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile Agni and Surface Missile Prithvi. BALCO has been the first in the Indian Aluminium Industry to produce the Alloy Rods, which is a Feedstock for all Aluminium Alloy Conductors, very much important for today s power transmission line. One of the major criticism BALCO face is that once in September 23, 2009 a chimney under construction by Gannon Dunkerley & Company at the BALCO smelter in Korba, Chhattisgarh collapsed killing at least 45 workers. BALCO and GDCL management have been accused of negligence in the incident. This was the time when BALCO had a huge dent on there reputation.

Bharat Gold Mines Limited

Bharat Gold Mines Limited or in short BGML is a public sector undertaking of the government of India

The Kolar Gold Mines were taken up for systematic exploitation by John Taylor & Sons in 1880. Then it

went into the hands of the then Mysore state in 1947. The mines were handed over to the central Government in 1972 and BGML was formed. The company operates two mines in Mysore / Champion mine & Nundydroog mine. BGML is under the Department of Mines. It is primarily engaged in mining in its captive mines in Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) located in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and production of gold in KGF - a small town in Kolar District. As a diversification measure, the Company also undertakes mine construction, shaft sinking, manufacture of mining machinery and other fabricated items for outside clients for which it has set up a Mine Construction and Engineering Division. BGML was one of those mines which was the adding to the glory of India with its largest Production of Gold. Bharat Gold Mines Limited(BGML) at Kolar Gold Fields was one of the largest Gold Mines in India until the in the year 2001. It is the largest and deepest gold mine in Asia. This mines was the first place in Asia to get electricity. After the beginning of large scale mining, the workers were prone to various diseases related with breathing and lungs of which Silicosis is one of them. Silicosis is a progressive disease affecting the lung. Silicosis is caused by inhalation of the fine silica dust from the mines over many years. This was mostly identified and diagnosed in the workers of the Kolar Gold Mines.

Bunder Project
Bunder Project is a proposed new diamond mine , located at Janpad Panchayat Buxwaha. If the project is approved and proves viable, it could be the "first significant world class diamond mine in India", according to the Rio Tinto Group, who have proposed the mine. They are waiting permission from the pollution control board for a Dense Media Separation Plant which would allow samples taken from the mine to be processed on location. The foundation of the plant was inaugurated by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on 17 January 2007 The company is targeting diamond mineralization at the site of a considerably higher grade than produced at the Panna mine, which is the only hard rock diamond mine currently operating in India.

Dempo
Dempo is a prominent mining company from the western Indian state of Goa. Dempo Sports Club is linked to Dempo mining company. Dempo company has interests in many fields and the umbrella company is known as Dempo House.

Companies which are partially or fully owned by Dempo

Hindustan foods

Dempo travels Dempo industries newspaper publishing Dempo ship building Goa carbon

Hindalco Industries
Hindalco Industries is world's largest Aluminium manufacturing Company and is a subsidiary of the Aditya Birla Group. It is run by one of the world's youngest billionaires, Mr. K.M. Birla. The company has annual sales of $ 5 billion and employs 13,675 people and is listed on Forbes 2000. A metals powerhouse with a turnover of US$ 14 billion, Hindalco is the world's largest aluminium rolling company and one of the biggest producers of primary aluminium in Asia. In July 2007, Hindalco announced it is acquiring the stake of Alcan Inc.'s in the Utkal Alumina Project located in Orissa. In June 2000, acquisition of controlling stake in Indian Aluminium Company Limited (Indal) with 74.6 per cent equity holding.

Hindustan Zinc Limited

Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) is an integrated mining and resources producer of zinc, lead, silver and cadmium. It is a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources PLC. HZL is the world's second largest zinc producer. It's revenues were Rs. 85.47 billion per year. It was established in 1966 as a government-owned corporation. HZL operates the world's third largest open-pit mine in Rampura Agucha, Rajasthan. Other mines it operates are located in Sindesar Khurd, in Rajasthan. It may also the world's lowest cost zinc producer.

Hutti Gold Mines Limited

Hutti Gold Mines Limited (HGML) is a company located in the state of Karnataka and engaged in the mining and production of gold. It was first established as Hyderabad Gold Mines in 1947. It is the only company in India which produces gold by mining and processing the gold ore. Owned by the Government of Karnataka.

The mines used by HGML are mainly located in the Hutti-Muski precambrian greenstone geological belt which contains both readily extractable native gold and gold-bearing sulphides.

HGML had an accumulated loss of Rs. 30 crore for the period 1995-2000 but made up this loss a bit by generating profits of Rs 19 crore in the first nine months of 2001. It went back into red in the year 2002-2003 and was on the verge of closure before it bounced back in the year 20042005 to post a profit of Rs. 48 crores.

Indian Rare Earth Limited

Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) is a government-owned corporation in India based in Mumbai. It was incorporated as a private limited company and jointly owned by the Government of India and Government of Travancore Cochin. IREL commissioned its largest Division called Orissa Sand Complex(OSCOM) at Chatrapur, Orissa. Today IREL operates these four units with Corporate Office in Mumbai and produces/sells six heavy minerals namely ilmenite, rutile, zircon, monazite, sillimanite and garnet as well as various value added products

National Aluminiyum company

National Aluminium Company Limited, (NALCO) has units all over India at places like Angul and Damanjodi. It was incorporated as a public sector enterprise of the Ministry of Mines, Government of India in 1981. Today, it is Asia's largest, and one of the world's leading and the sixth largest, integrated aluminium complex, encompassing bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminium smelting and casting, power generation, rail and port operations. It boasts of some of the world's latest and finest technology in the Aluminium manufacturing industry. Nalco is planning to invest around 40,000 crores of Indian rupees in the next five years starting 2008. The investments will be made in alumina smelters and power projects in Indonesia, South Africa, Iran and within India.

Following are some of the major achievements of Nalco

y Gem Granite Environment Award for -1997-98 by FIMI, New Delhi for Mines
y Shri Sita Ram Rungta Memorial Social Awareness Award-1997-98 by FIMI, New Delhi

y Pollution Control Excellence Award - 1998 by Orissa State Pollution Control Board for Mines y Special Commendation under Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 1998 Scheme by World Environment Foundation y State Award for Best Occupational Health Centre to S&P Complex-1998

Natonal Mineral Developmant Corporation

The National Mineral Development Corporation Limited is a public sector undertaking of the Government of India. It is fully owned by the Government of India and is under administrative control of the Ministry of Steel. It is involved in the exploration of iron ore, copper, rock phosphat, limestone, dolomite, gypsum, bentonite, magnesite, diamond, tin, tungsten, graphite etc. It is India's largest iron ore producer and exporter producing about 30 million tons of iron ore from 3 fully mechanised mines in Chhatisgarh and Karnataka. It also operates the only mechanised diamond mine in the country at Panna in Madhya Pradesh. Strong back up of an ISO 9001 certified R&D centre, which has been declared as the "Centre of Excellence" in the field of mineral processing by the Expert Group of UNIDO. NMDC has made valuable and substantial contribution to the national efforts in the mineral sector during the last five decades and has been accorded the status of schedule-A Public Sector Company. The company has been recently categorized by the Department of Public Enterprises as "NAVA RATNA" Public Sector enterprise.

Rajastan State Mines And Minerals Limited

Rajasthan State Mines & Minerals Limited (RSMML) is a public sector enterprises of the Government of Rajasthan, primarily engaged in mining and marketing of industrial minerals in Rajasthan . The very objective of the company is to achieve cost effective technological innovations in the mining of minerals and to diversify into mineral based downstream projects.The Company is also aiming at long term fuel supply to lignite based power projects and setting up wind energy farms at Jaisalmer.

After amalgamation, the following four mineral based Strategic Business Units & Profit Centres (SBU & PC) namely Rock Phosphate, Lignite, Gypsum and Limestone have been set up as a part of corporate restructuring:
y y y y

Strategic Business Unit and Profit Centre Rock Mine Strategic Business Unit and Profit Centre Strategic Business Unit and Profit Centre Strategic Business Unit and Profit Centre

Rock Phosphate at Udaipur. Jhamarkotra Phosphate Gypsum at Bikaner Limestone at Jodhpur Lignite at Jaipur

Sesa Goa
Sesa Goa is India's largest producer and exporter of iron ore in the private sector. In fiscal 2010, it produced 21.4 million tonnes and sold 20.5 million tonnes of iron ore. It is one of the low cost producers of iron ore in the world and is well placed to serve the growing demand of Asian countries. The mining operations are carried out in the States of Goa, Karnataka and Orissa in India. Initiatives fostering community development are implemented through the Sesa Community Development Foundation. In addition, the Company undertakes some need based initiatives, both directly and in association with the Mineral Foundation of India. Sesa Goa won the overall first prize for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) during the 7th National conference on Occupational Safety, Health and Environment, organized by Inspectorate of Factories and Boilers, Govt. of Goa, held in February 2010.

Uranium Corporation OF India

Uranium Corporation of India (UCIL) is an centrally owned Public Sector Undertaking (PSU), under the Department of Atomic Energy for Uranium mining and Uranium Processing. The corporation was founded in 1967 and is responsible for the mining and milling of Uranium ore in India. The firm operates mines at Jadugora, Bhatin, Narwapahar, Turamdih and Banduhurang. UCIL has taken up activities to start two underground mines in Jharkhand. Uranium reserves have been found in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the construction of an underground mine has started in Cuddapah district.

There was criticism from certain sections of the local community that the mining operations of UCIL was resulting in harmful radiation to the public. However medical surveys later conducted showed no proof for the claim and showed that the cancer incidence in the area was less than one-third of the national average. UCIL was also among the 63 Indian establishments put under sanction by USA in 1998. The mining activities of UCIL in the Khasi Hills were also fiercely opposed by the local tribals protesting against potential health effects.