Our vision is to achieve a 100 percent transition from dieselpowered equipment to battery/electrically powered equipment, says Arun Misra, CEO, Hindustan Zinc.

How are the recent policy changes helping the mining industry to revive? What is the trend in underground mining?

This is a welcome step by the government to identify new mining blocks and auction them. The recent policy changes will open up avenues to bring more transparency in auctioning the blocks, both for exploration and mining. It will augment revenue and employment opportunities in the country. Private players will now be able to extend their support to bring new technology, innovation and expertise in the field of mining. I believe that these strategic investments in mining can transform and boost India’s aim of a $5 trillion economy.

Further, if the government allows private players to explore minerals, it will accelerate more mining blocks, converting them into operational mines thus resulting in enhanced production and reduce dependence on imports. Rajasthan in particular, is rich in copper, zinc, silver, lead, along with crude oil, gas, limestone, phosphate, and potash. All the minerals imported from abroad are available in the state, and by producing these minerals, the state can earn 63 percent of the money the country spends on imports.

How are the new policy steps promoting the use of advanced technologies in mining?

New technologies can benefit the mining industry and consumers in all stages of the mining life cycle. Modern mining’s core proposition is driven largely using technology right from mine to the metal. The mining industry can play a pivotal role in reaching the $5-trillion economy goal through indirect contribution and by nurturing downstream industries. This will require private investment and support from the government in the form of policies. The government has long backed the usage of drones/UAVs in mine-related functions such as exploration, surveillance, reconciliation etc. Few recent policy steps by the government such as the opening of commercial coal mining to private players, MDO will not only help increasing production but also promote the use of advanced technologies thus making the mining industry capital efficient.

What are the new equipment and technologies used in your mining operations? What are the company initiatives in digital technologies?

We are using tele-remote LHD, solo equipment, and jumbo equipment that enable the operators to work from a secure location from where they can control the machine with the help of multiple cameras and sensors. Presently, our Sindesar Khurd Mine and Rampura Agucha Mine have tele-remote LHD and Solo equipment running and we are planning to expand this feature to our other units as well.

Every year few pieces of equipment fulfil their purpose and we as a rule always replace them with the latest equipment available in the world in terms of capacity, innovation etc. The recently inducted LHDs and LPDTs come with inbuilt sensors that communicate with digital infrastructures in place at fixed intervals giving us a picture of what equipment is going through. As soon as something is amiss in the pieces of equipment and machinery, we get triggers and nudges to fix them which saves us time in breakdown maintenance and doesn’t hinder the operations. Additionally, for data collection, inspection, stock control, condition, and safety monitoring, new improved unmanned drones are also being used.

Post mining, we have deployed APC in our mills to achieve incremental improvements in our recoveries. To achieve this, we have partnered with Mintek Africa. Apart from APC, we have also installed water treatment plants to bring down the turbidity as the water quality plays a huge role in recoveries achieved

Satellite monitoring is in place across Hindustan Zinc sites. We already have digital infrastructures in two of our flagship mines Sindesar Khurd and Rampura Agucha. The aim is to emanate similar infrastructure in all our mines, achieve real tangible utility while setting new benchmarks for the global mining community in mine digitalisation and become part of the global lighthouse network.

What are your plans to acquire new equipment and technologies in future?

We have signed MoUs with Epiroc and Normet to bring Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) in underground mining. This initiative is the first of its kind in India in the mining sector. We are proud to be the pioneers of bringing this change and other sustainable solutions across all our operations. This technology will help us in drastically reducing carbon emissions, enabling the mine operations to become more environmentally friendly. Our vision is to achieve a 100 percent transition from diesel-powered equipment to battery/electrically powered equipment for which we have earmarked $1 billion in our growth and vision fund.

We are also planning to introduce Mobile Miner Technology in our mines. Mobile Miner is a rock cutting process that is continuous and predictable which makes planning and scheduling much easier – a critical factor for the mining industry to become more cost-efficient and predictable in their operations. Further, we are looking at introducing mineral size technology which is the latest innovation in the crushing industry providing a compact and efficient way of combination.

What is your outlook on the mining activities in the country going ahead?

Because of the technological revolution, the nature of mining is constantly shifting and most of the mines in India are open-pit mines, but the transition to underground mining is around the corner. We need metals and minerals to support our country’s sustained growth in the infrastructure sector, automotive sector, and power production. With underground mines, it is always easier said than done. The need of the hour is not just mining and production but mining with better safety, efficiency, and all of that done more efficiently and sustainably. Currently, underground mines in India are focused on increasing the use of technology, skill upgradation to adapt technologies to increase efficiency and productivity, and minimising the cost to gain a competitive advantage.

With the government giving the push in the right direction by granting leases for a longer duration, allowing 100 percent FDI under the automatic route (non-fuel, non-atomic minerals), greater transparency in government policies, and low custom duty on capital equipment, the current scenario is immensely positive. Strategically we should push for deep-seated mining and especially for minerals such as copper, cobalt, nickel, and lithium upon which electrical mobility industries have a huge dependency. As countries across the world are bringing policies to phase out fossil fuels, exploration with the intent to find these minerals and bringing them into production will place our country in a better place in becoming a $5 trillion economy.