Beach Mineral Company is a leading integrated mineral company, involved in processing a variety of Beach Sand Mineral products. Beach Mineral Company’s core competence exists in Mining, Processing and Refining of Almandine Garnet, Ilmenite & Zircon for industrial applications worldwide.
 
Excellent Product:
The abrasive grains have high specific gravity, exceptional material hardness and very low breakdown rate. This ensures significantly reduced dust levels, improved operator visibility resulting in superior cleaning compared to other conventional abrasives. BMC Garnet being an inert, non-toxic natural mineral containing less than 0.1% free silica does not cause any health risk to personnel or environmental contamination in surrounding areas.
 
Economical Solution:
Garnet, due to its characteristic sub-angular fractured shape, is highly efficient in the blasting process. Its low abrasive consumption and ability to be recycled up to 4 to 6 times with out losing its efficiency, makes it desirable for many surface preparation applications. BMC garnet’s distinctiveness enhances the efficiency and increases the productivity and at the same time reduces abrasive consumption thus leading to significant cost savings per square meter blasted.
 
Efficient Enterprise:
Based on careful planning, the front-line mineral processing technologies are employed to deliver the most efficient product with the least environmental impact. BMC Garnet is processed under stringent quality control measures. This ensures product consistency and delivery of the assured proportion of particle size distribution in the abrasive mix for a uniform surface profile. A well-equipped in-house laboratory and testing facility complements the production process to ensure compliance with the international standard at all times.
 
Garnet
BMC Garnet is mined from Almandine mineral deposit sources on the coastal stretch of south India. The Almandine Garnet is the heaviest and hardest of the all the garnet types in its own group, which makes it an ideal abrasive grain for various industrial applications.
Garnet is mined as a gemstone and as an industrial mineral, but it is valued primarily for its many industrial applications. Almandine Garnet grains are the most versatile natural blasting & cutting medium available in the international market today. Its inherent physical and chemical uniformity ensures better performance and its repeatability makes it ideally suitable for the blasting industry. Garnet is gradually displacing the other substitute blasting media because of its environment friendly utility and reusability thus eliminating the health risks associated with other conventional blasting media.
BMC Garnet is available in a range of tightly screened abrasive blasting products to suit every application and site requirement.
 
12/40 Mesh: One of the most preferred products for multi-media-water-filtration systems. It can also be used for specialized application where excessive surface profiling is required or very high built coating systems are to be removed.
Surface Profile: 100-150 microns.
 
20/40: It is an abrasive that can be utilized for heavy-duty coating removal. It’s recyclability and nominal production rates makes it one of the most preferred repair-grade abrasives.
Surface profile: 75-100 micron.
 
20/60 Mesh: It is the most cost effective and excellent abrasive of its kind. Its repeatability makes it suited for fast and efficient removal of existing coatings when compared to other traditionally used abrasive medium.
 
Surface profile: 50-90 microns.
 
30/60 Mesh: It is perfect for all types of blasting applications including, removing existing coating, rust and other contamination. The world’s most popular Garnet Blasting Abrasive Grade, it is an ideal choice for superior surface preparation for new steel prior to tank coating, for pipelines-both internal and external, fabricated steel and structures, etc. Also used for effective removal of mill scale, it is the most preferred as a Slurry- Blast Grade and High Pressure Hydro-Blasting Abrasive.
 
Surface Profile: 50-75 microns.
 
80 Mesh: Possessing highest efficiency on new steel/mill scale due to highest grain count per weight/volume makes it an ideal choice for surface preparation of Aluminium and non-ferrous surfaces.
 
120 Mesh: Utilized for surface preparation of stainless steel and Aluminum where minimum surface roughness is desired, this abrasive medium can be used on a variety of pliable and synthetic products too.
 
Garnet – Application
Garnet is a semi-precious stone whose natural properties make it the most efficient abrasive for many industrial applications.
The end uses of BMC industrial garnet are abrasive sand blasting media, water jet abrasives, abrasive grains, filtration media, precision abrasive powder and other miscellaneous abrasive uses, ranging from nonskid surfaces to finishing of plastic and wood products.
 
Sand Blasting   
Cost Effective – BMC garnet-harder and heavier than other blast abrasives reduces abrasive consumption, is recyclable up to 5 times or more without losing its superior cutting ability thus leading to significant savings in overall spending.
Low Dust Levels – Its inherent toughness and rapid settling due to high specific gravity leads to significantly lower dust emissions in blast cleaning leading to minimum disruption and danger to adjoining operations, improved operator visibility and reduced cleanup costs.
Health and Safety – BMC garnet is an inert natural mineral that poses no health or environmental risks. All BMC garnet products contain less than 0.3% free silica.
Superior Surface Preparation – BMC garnet abrasives due to their ability to reach deep into the cavities to the bare metal surface provide a uniform surface profile that is virtually free of embedment and rogue peaks and troughs providing improved coating adhesion and coating life.
 
Ilmenite
Ilmenite-a mixture of iron and titanium oxides, is used as a furnace lining in the steel industry and also as a blasting medium. After eliminating the iron particles, Ilmenite can be further processed to produce Synthetic Rutile, which can be further developed to make Titanium Dioxide.
 
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a non-toxic pigment with High Refractive Index or Opacity- the ability to reflect and scatter all colors of light while absorbing ultra violet light. It possesses high thermal stability and chemical inertness.
TiO2, a premier pigment used extensively in the paint industry has replaced old-fashioned lead carbonate pigments. About 90% of the titanium mineral produced in the world is used in the manufacture of white titanium dioxide pigment. Because of its non-toxic nature, it is used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and even added to foodstuffs such as flour, icing sugar and sweets as well as toothpaste to improve their brightness. Titanium dioxide is used in the manufacture of many sunscreen lotions and creams because of it non-toxicity and UV absorption properties.
 
Synthetic Rutile is used to make Titanium metal, a versatile material with exceptional characteristics. The lightness, strength and durability of the metal make it an essential metal to the aerospace industry. It is also used in desalination plants and corrosive chemical industries because of its inertness and resistance to corrosion. Its non-reactive property makes titanium metal one of the few materials that can be used in the human body as hip replacements and pacemakers. Titanium metal is also increasingly being used world over in making sports equipment, jewellery and advanced engineering applications.
 
Zircon
Zircon- This glassy mineral has found its place in many an industrial application worldwide. Starting from ceramics and refractory tiles to a range of high-tech applications. Zircon compounds have a very low toxicity and are not perceived as a potential environmental hazard. They are even said to have some medicinal properties and are now increasingly preferred in the manufacture of food products and pharmaceuticals too.
 
Zircon’s exceptional qualities of hardness and durability makes it a must-use for the manufacture of ceramics and refractory tiles and also for a range of other high-tech applications such as armour plating on military aircraft, heat shield in space shuttles and potentially as solid oxide fuel cells in hydrogen powered vehicles in many industrial and chemical applications.
 
The Industrial zircon ceramics are extensively used as linings to protect furnaces and kilns for smelting of metals because they can retain their physical and chemical composition even when subjected to high temperatures. Zircon application is mainly confined to mould faces and cores, which directly come in contact with molten metal. Zircon sand helps in minimising the penetration of mould by the molten metal and thus ensures that the casting gets a good surface finish.
 
It is predominantly used as a glaze material and as an opacifier to provide shine and brightness for crockery, sanitary ware, Ceramic tiles, other decorative ceramic products and is also widely used in television and computer screens. Resistance to corrosion and erosion makes zircon products ideal for use in the chemical industry and in desalination plants.
 
Mining Process
BMC is committed to managing its mining activities in an environmentally responsible manner and will pursue environmental excellence by implementing best policies, systems and procedures to bring about a continual improvement in Environment Management.
 
Pre-Mine Surveys
Environmental management starts at planning for mining a new ore body. BMC undertakes comprehensive pre-mine surveys. The planning that goes into a new mine takes place many years ahead of an actual plant move. The data from the pre-mine surveys is used to optimise the mine path for minimal impact. A number of environmental consultants of repute are engaged to assist with these surveys. Pre mine surveys are used to characterise the existing topography and Ecology of the entire mine path. Topographic, vegetation, soil, fauna, cultural, and hydrological surveys provide baseline data necessary for planning and monitoring environmental management, and rehabilitation requirements and development. The soil surveys are used to identify depth, type and nutrient status and volume of the soils present.
In-house experts directly assist in exploration, projects, mining and processing operations to achieve environmentally less impacting and cost effective production. Specialist environmental personnel are employed to undertake various components of the environmental management requirements.
A combination of satellite imagery, aerial photography, ecological indicators and local knowledge are used to determine the flora and fauna types resulting in a complete description of the community types, structure and density of species in the mine path prior to mining and is used to develop the correct seed mix and plant out regime for post mine rehabilitation.
 
Environment Management
BMC is committed to effective environmental management in all areas of the Company’s business. It is working to achieve best practices in managing the environmental and social impacts of mining and mineral processing operations.
BMC aims at the re-establishment of former mine sites to self-sustaining land uses or ecosystems. Reduction, re-use and recycling strategies are implemented to optimise waste disposal. Research is on to evaluate the feasibility and cost of conversion of waste heat to electricity in the process of pursuit of continuous improvement in energy use and efficiency.
 
Achievements
The rewards for true professionalism!
Consistent commitment to excellence in quality and business operations has helped BMC achieve various certifications and win many awards from its clients in the mineral processing industry, since 1985. These initiatives demonstrate for the new millennium, how manufacturing excellence adds value for customers, for stakeholders of all types, and for the wider economy as a whole.
“Excellence for Traffic Performance” – 2002 & 2003 by Tuticorin Port Trust
 
“Certificate of Merit” for The Export Achievement – every year since 1991 by Capexil, The Indian Commerce Ministry
 
“The Special Export 
           
Contact
 
Beach Minerals Company
BMC House, 32-2, Halls Road,
Post Box no: 789, Egmore,
Chennai – 600 008, TN, India.
Tel: +91-44-5214 7780
Fax: +91-44-5214 6000
E-mail: info@bmcindia.net
Web: www.bmcindia.net