What Are The Prerequisites Of Heavy Mineral Mining Industry?

The first important requirement in order to conduct heavy mineral mining is a trouble free placer deposit. Some placer deposits tend to be complicated with sophisticated mineral assemblage, which leads to rise in production costs. Another essential aspect needed to be considered to be in the heavy mineral mining business is access to labor. Access to water and cheaper electricity is also essential. The right infrastructure needs to be in place for better business activities.

The grant for mining lease is the most important aspect as without that mining won’t be possible. 17 departments from State and Central Government have to give their consent which typically takes 5 years minimum.

The Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu has abundance in placer deposits of Garnet and Ilmenite. Some of the top companies like VV Minerals are actively involved in heavy mineral mining in Tamil Nadu. V.V Mineral is a family grown business started by Mr. S Vaikundarajan, Founder, Chairman & Managing Director, VV Group. Being India’s biggest mining, manufacturers and exporters of Garnet V.V. Mineral has been awarded as the ‘Number One Garnet Exporters’ of our country. Zircon mining, Rutile mining and Ilmenite mining are some of the other mining activities that VV Minerals engage in.

Challenges Faced By The Heavy Mineral Mining Industry

One of the major challenges that the heavy mineral mining faces is the taxes set by the Government policies. For example a royalty of 3% for Garnet Mining and 2% of other heavy minerals is to be paid up according to the MMDR Act.  The central Government has also imposed 15% and 12.5% excise duty for various heavy minerals. In addition to that, there is 10% excise duty that needs to be fulfilled which is imposed by the Central Government again. Also, the State Government levies Sales Tax, Value Added Tax (VAT) and local cess and local cess surcharge are applicable to heavy mineral manufacturers.

The long process of getting environmental clearances and the CRZ clearances from the Ministry Of Environment And Forest is another hurdle. Even if the land is owned by the manufacturers themselves, the first stage public hearing has to be compulsorily attended. After which it is obligatory to get clearance from more than 17 department / agencies from State and Government departments.

Although difficult and time consuming, these processes are all complied by VV Minerals, India, which is based in Tamil Nadu. They are the country’s leading heavy mineral mining manufacturers and exporters. They rank number one for Garnet export. Also they are the first private company in the country to export ilmenite.

It is a family owned business, established by Mr. S. Vaikundarajan, who is the chairman and managing director of the company. Starting from 1989, in Tamil Nadu, they have now grown to be the leaders in the industry on the global front.

How Does Heavy Mineral Mining Create Alternate Employment For Local People?

 
The length of the coastline of Gulf of Mannar is 223.90 kms which constitutes to about 21% of the state coastline of over 1000 kms. Some people are under an impression that the fishing activities and development of fisheries are affected by the heavy mineral mining of beach sand minerals in the coast of Tuticorin, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu.

However, this is not true. In fact, it is the other way round; by conducting heavy mineral mining activity it leads to the development of the local villages. By way of providing alternate employment, the standard of living of the fishermen and their families is upgraded due to additional income of the family and also leisure time could be spent effectively.

Fishing is a seasonal profession which lasts for about 5 months in a year from September to January. The rest of the time 7 months the fisherman are jobless; there is no other way for lucrative employment in the coastal areas. Garnet mineral is abundantly found on the Gulf of Mannar, hence, Garnet mining and processing industries provide ample job opportunities for   the fishermen and their family round the year. This has led to betterment of living conditions and also improved the overall health and lifestyle of the local people.

The leading company that indulges in heavy mineral mining in Tuticorin is VV Mineral, India. They are India’s biggest mining, manufacturers and exporters of Garnet.

They have been awarded as the ‘Number One Garnet Exporters’ of our country. They also undertake Zircon mining, Rutile mining and Ilmenite mining.

Processes Involved In Beach Mineral Sand Mining

India is rich in various natural resources. Many states in India like Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are rich in mineral resources. While Goa is known for its ores, Kerala and Tamil Nadu are recognized for the heavy mineral reserves.

The heavy mineral sand mining industry deals with mining of minerals such as Zircon mining, Ilmenite mining, Rutile mining, Garnet and other Titanium dioxide products.  Most people are unaware of the specifics of the heavy mineral mining industry. Here is how heavy minerals are processed.

There are four stages involved in the processing of beach mineral sands. The primary stage involves the separation of silica and the minerals, for this the sand is transported to the pre-concentration plant where there are two streams created, namely, the Garnet-Zircon-Sillimanite stream and Ilmenite and Rutile stream.          

Both streams then are processed independently and Garnet and Ilmenite are separated. The Garnet is further processed in another unit for washing and sizing. After this process it is packed for export. And Ilmenite if further treated in an independent unit to remove all the impurities.

One of the premier companies that indulge in heavy mineral mining of Garnet is V.V. Mineral. They are India’s biggest mining, manufacturers and exporters of Garnet. They have been awarded as the ‘Number One Garnet Exporters’ of our country. They also undertake Zircon mining, Rutile mining and Ilmenite mining.

Is Heavy Mineral Mining An Environmental Concern?

The process of heavy mineral mining begins with extracting mineral rich sand from the sea shores and transporting it to a processing plant. In India this extraction is done manually using hand tools. Although, in heavy mineral mining you need to extract sand from the shores, it does not lead to any depreciation of land, because the sand after the extracting the minerals is transported back to the shores and filled in the places where mining is conducted.

Sustainable methods of mining ensure that there is no environmental harm is caused due to this activity. If the right care is taken, the entire process can be pollution free and cause very less or no harm to the people living near the mining areas. Activities mentioned below can be undertaken in support of environmental sustainability while mining:

• Sprinklers at mining sites minimise the spread of red dust in the atmosphere.

• Reclamation and rehabilitation of dormant mines can be done through afforestation and other techniques.

• Recycled water from mines can be supplied to nearby villages for secondary use.

• Mechanised road sweepers can clean up the surroundings on mining routes.

VV Mineral, India is an environment-friendly organization which has taken various steps over the years to conserve water through smart usage of water in its operations. Being a water conscious company, VVM does not use fresh water in mining process and does not use chemicals in its concentration plants. Due to its continued efforts, VVM is already saving more than 1.2 million KL water every year. They also use wind mills to generate power. It is family grown business started by Mr. S Vaikundarajan, Chairman of VV Group of companies.

What Is Supergarnet

Garnet is an abrasive mineral found in the form of sand particles on the surface of sea shores and river banks. The Garnet sand particles are mixed and embedded in the sea shores in the form of placer deposits.  Once they are separated from the normal sand particles they become really useful and economically beneficial sand. Industrially garnet sand can be used in a number of processes, namely, garnet sand blasting, water filtration processes, surface preparations and in abrasive water jets.

Super Garnet is a non - metallic naturally obtainable mineral abrasive mined from the beaches of the Gulf of Mannar. The grains have a unique curved cuboidal form as a result of hundreds of years under wave action. Almandine garnet is the heaviest and hardest of garnets, and can withstand more cutting speed and maintain low dust levels. Super garnet's uniqueness justifies the title "Gem of an Abrasive".

Super Garnet is one of the most preferred abrasive in blasting media. It is some of the highest quality and performing garnet, hence, the name super garnet.

With a purity of 99.5% Super Garnet will offer you the highest performance and low dust. There are a number of grades available in super garnet depending on the desired profile one requires.

One of the premier companies that indulge in heavy mineral mining is V.V. Mineral. V.V Mineral is a family grown business started by Mr. S Vaikundarajan, Founder, Chairman & Managing Director, VV Group. Being India’s biggest mining, manufacturers and exporters of Garnet V.V. Mineral has been awarded as the ‘Number One Garnet Exporters’ of our country. Zircon mining, Rutile mining and Ilmenite mining are some of the other mining activities that VV Minerals engage in.

What Is Abrasive Water Jet Cutting

Abrasive water jet cutting is an important shape cutting technique. Generally, it cuts with superior quality than heat cutting methods and with less cost and quality than electrical discharge machining. The cutting ability of water jet machining can be improved drastically by adding hard and sharp abrasive particles into the water jet.

It is mainly used for paint removal, surface preparation, cleaning, cutting soft materials, cutting frozen meat, in the textile or leather industry. Also it is widely used in Surgery, drilling or even Nuclear Plant dismantling.

The materials that abrasive water jet cutting is best suited can include steel, non ferrous alloys, polymers, concrete, wood, plastics, laminates, glass fibre metal laminates.

An abrasive water jet consists of a regular water jet with an abrasive added into the fluid nozzle. It is used to cut or machine nearly any hard material such as metal, stone, and glass.

Some advantages of using abrasive water jet cutting are that it provides a better quality finish in cutting.  Materials cut by the abrasive jet have a smooth, satin-like finish, similar to a fine sandblasted finish. Abrasive jets also abrade material at room temperatures which implies that there are no heat-affected areas.

One of the premier companies that indulge in heavy mineral mining is V.V. Mineral. V.V Mineral is a family grown business started by Mr. S Vaikundarajan, Founder, Chairman & Managing Director, VV Group. Being India’s biggest mining, manufacturers and exporters of Garnet V.V. Mineral has been awarded as the ‘Number One Garnet Exporters’ of our country. Zircon mining, Rutile mining and Ilmenite mining are some of the other mining activities that VV Minerals engage in.

Garnet As A Dual Purpose Mineral

Garnet is a semiprecious gemstone, and is highly popular mineral gem stone among women across the world. The word Garnet is derived from its Latin origin, called Granatus, which means ‘like a grain’. Currently, the world's largest supplier of garnet gems is the African continent. Garnet exhibits the highest variety of colour of any mineral, occurring in every color except for blue.

Garnet is not a single mineral, but is the name of a group of six members having different mineralogical compositions but common order of crystallization, hardness, specific gravity etc. In general, they are silicates of aluminium with different proportions of iron, calcium, magnesium, chromium & manganese in the composition giving rise to different varieties.

The use of garnets as a gem or gemstone can be traced to prehistoric times. However, the first industrial use of garnet appears to have been as coated sandpaper manufactured in the United States in the late 1800’s.

Garnet is non-toxic, inert and hence environment friendly.  Almandine garnet is one of the best natural abrasive and is preferred over other natural abrasives like Silica sand, mineral sands and flint.

Garnet's unique grain hardness / toughness guarantees efficiency in blasting and reduce the break-down percentage on impact. About 65% of garnet can be recovered and recycled twice or thrice.

One of the premier companies that indulge in heavy mineral mining is V.V. Mineral. V.V Mineral is a family grown business started by Mr. S Vaikundarajan, Founder, Chairman & Managing Director, VV Group. Being India’s biggest mining, manufacturers and exporters of Garnet V.V. Mineral has been awarded as the ‘Number One Garnet Exporters’ of our country. Zircon mining, Rutile mining and Ilmenite mining are some of the other mining activities that VV Minerals engage in.