NMDC invests Rs 1,400 crore in two breakthrough innovations in mining technology

KOLKATA: NMDC, one of India’s largest miners, has introduced two breakthrough innovations in mining technology at its iron ore complex with an investment of Rs 1,400 crore.

The twin technologies, a 5-km long conveyor belt, the only one of its kind in Asia, and a ‘green’ pellet plant are already operational in the dusty iron ore fields of Kumaraswamy at Donimalai. Both the mine and the pellet plant are likely to be formally commissioned by mid-June 2016.

“When we decided to expand operations at Kumaraswamy, we were clear that we wanted to go beyond environment-friendly and safe mining operations and take our approach to the next level by doing something that has not been attempted before,” said NK Nanda, director (technical) at NMDC, who spearheaded the project.

The state-owned company, which has been mining around 5 million tonne at Kumaraswamy, has recently expanded capacity of the mine by an additional 7 million tonne.