The 9th edition of IME 2022, a catalyst for the development of India’s mining, mineral, metal, and related industries, intended to boost the mining and allied industries’ future.

The 9th edition of “IME 2022,” a prestigious biennial international exhibition focused on mining, equipment, minerals, metals, and allied industries in India, successfully concluded its 3-day exhibition on 7th April 2022 at Eco Park, Rajarhat, Kolkata, India.

Leaders, dealers, distributors, vendors, machinery and technology experts across the mining sector were a part of this event. Various products were launched during the event, whereas, some companies showcased their new and key product profile for the mining industry. 

Mining is one of the core industries of Indian economy offering basic raw materials to key industrial areas. India stands second largest coal producer in the world, and 5th largest in terms of coal deposits.

The index of mineral production of mining and quarrying sector for the month of January, 2022 is at 124.7, was 2.8 percent higher as compared to the level during the same period 2021. As per the latest statistics of Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), the cumulative growth for the period April-January, 2021-22 over the corresponding period of the previous year has increased by 14.2 percent. 

Leaders, dealers, distributors, vendors, machinery and technology experts across the mining sector were a part of this event. Various products were launched during the event, whereas, some companies showcased their new and key product profile for the mining industry. 

Present market scenario in Mining 

Presently, the mining market is performing well, especially with the investments being initiated from Coal India of `25,000 Cr, just towards the evacuation process in the rapid loading systems and the evacuation of coal. This investment is huge in itself. However, technology implementation to get away from using trucks for mining transport still need to be addressed.

According to Nitin Vyas, MD – CEO, Beumer India, Beumer Group, We talk about sustainability and green mining on one hand, and on the other hand you convey all the mining material through trucks. You are indirectly increasing emission. Although we have standards in place, they aren’t being stringently followed, hence we need to progress on that part. Otherwise, the growth projections are positive. 

The government of India has a huge plan as far as growth and the economy are concerned. They’re  talking about 5 trillion US dollars, and mining forms one of the core areas, not only for coal production but also for other minerals. So, coal will definitely be there. Now, they will look for higher capacity equipment; that’s where the equipment being employed is imported. For the same, BEML has developed the 158 and 190-tonne dumpers and excavators, says Amit Banerjee, CMD, BEML. “We are slowly moving into the higher capacity equipment so that the coal output is greater. Throughout BEML, the mining and construction businesses have been going very well. I’m sure in the future, mining and construction businesses will also be leading.” 

Although the construction equipment industry had a difficult year last year, the industry’s expectations for this financial year are optimistic, highlights JM Frictech team. He further adds that the tractor segment has helped them maintain businesses even during the COVID. However, we can observe that the tractor segment and farm elements are slowing down, so we may expect a comparable increase in mining and construction equipment. “We are optimistic about the industry’s growth and we will soon introduce a slew of new construction equipment goods that are tailored to the needs of Indian miners, he adds.

IME 2022 at a glance 

According to Amit Banerjee, CMD, BEML, “the pandemic hasn’t affected mining because the mining and health sectors were operational throughout these times, and the mining industry was active during these trying times too. “To be more specific, the growth trend during 2019 was witnessed as a downward trend, but there was positive growth of 5-10 percent during 2020–2021 in mining construction. So, I believe it would be right to mention that amid the pandemic, the mining industry performed well.”

Analysing the foot fall at the IME 2022, Nitin Vyas felt that people are still testing waters and maybe that’s why the footfall was less than expected. People still are sceptical towards offline events due to the pandemic situation. “But I believe, IME was an ice breaker to bring the industry leaders on a single platform. Moreover, this will further build confidence among the industry and engage them in more such offline industrial exhibitions. Though the online events will continue to exist, but offline exhibitions are irreversible”, adds Nitin.

Talking about MACO Corporation’s experience at IME 2022, Mainak Sajwal, Deputy Manager-business Development, MACO Corporation, mentioned about their expectations on meeting international vendors and increase their outreach further overseas. He further emphasised on government’s decision on increasing FDI, he believes this can further intensify the process for technology transfer. 

According to Kapil Bhagat, Head – Coal Mining & Coal Management Group, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. “IME 2022 is a good opportunity for us because since 2019 we haven’t met anyone offline. Although there has been number of online conferences. Hence, I believe this is good opportunity for the industry to pick up and prosper even further; even we have launched several projects. So, in my opinion, we need such conferences for physical interaction in India and for the mining industry. “ 

Whereas, for Techfab India, IME 22 was a different yet positive experience, as the entire purview and experience changes during and offline event. But again, when offline, we can’t visit other multiple booths at the same time and check out other activities, which was feasible to do with the online events and exhibitions. Adding further, Deeraj Kumar Reddy, Sr. Manager—Pavement, TechFab India said “Techfab India is planning to enter this mining sector in a focused way. We are planning to build up relationships or build projects with the visitors or other exhibitors so that we can develop the project for them and enter into this sector.”

Products and innovations 

A wide variety of products and technologies were displayed and launched during the IME 2022 at  Kolkata. Also, there were companies who preferred networking over showcasing. Caterpillar Inc., one of the world’s leading manufacturers for construction and mining equipment, was also a part of the International Mining, Equipment, Minerals & Metal Exhibition 2022. 

Among them Electromagnetic Industries exhibited their magnetic separators along with its laboratory equipment that are primarily used to remove iron ore particles from the mining equipment. Adding more details, Pallav mentioned “Right now, we are engaged in R&D activities at our facility where we are trying to enhance and upgrade the efficiency of our magnetic separators. Presently, their efficiency stands between 90-95 percent, and are aim at achieving a maximum of 99 percent efficiency in our products.” 

Growth prospects in mining industry 

According to Kapil Bhagat, Head – Coal Mining & Coal Management Group, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd.” Today, as a matter of fact, almost a 90 million tonne coal is generated from these captive and commercial mines. Many of these mines are being successfully auctioned under various tranches like 11,12,13,14; interestingly, the government is planning to introduce tranche 15 too. With these developments, we are hopeful that it will add impetus to coal mining industry, production employment, mining machinery manufacturing in India, and a lot of indigenous capabilities will be developed.”

Localisation in mining 

Commenting on localisation, Mainak feels “We can achieve 100 percent localisation in India within the next 15 years. Furthermore, if the government can organise at least three mining conferences per year with global participation, we will almost certainly have 10 percent localisation in India with Make in India. We do have access, we do have mining facilities, but we need increased government intervention to boost the mining sector’s growth.

On this point, JM Frictech emphasises on the fact that, recently, Construction Company like JCB, in its last annual sales conference, mentioned of localising their products and increase imports. Adding further he highlighted “During the pandemic situation, we witnessed a huge gap in the import sector of whatever components arriving from the overseas. Therefore, OEMs are looking forward to localise the parts that they used to import earlier. So, we do have such components and the technologies with us to increase localisation and in-house manufacturing.”

EV and mining 

Mining electrical vehicles are huge machines, and they require huge battery operating systems, so, unless you have an efficient battery operation system, we cannot consider going electrical for that size without these advancements. We have hybrid equipment, diesel and electrical. Even though the excavators where the movement is at the moment are fully electrical, you still have to draw a 66 kV line cable. Even completely battery operated trucks of that size are not available. R & D activities are in place to move towards EVs in the near future.