V V Mineral is the largest manufacture of minerals in India. We manufacture Ilmenite, Rutile and Zircon. Under the chairmanship of Mr. Vaikundarajan, VV Mineral has won various prestigious awards and recognition.
Showing posts with label Illegal Heavy Mineral Mining. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Illegal Heavy Mineral Mining. Show all posts
The World Nuclear Association estimated 3,00,000 tonnes of Thorium deposit in India. However, in recent years India has seen a depletion of these deposits. As per the reports, around 2,00,000 tonnes of Thorium-Oxide is missing from the country. Along with Thorium, Monazite quantity has also seen a decline along the coastline by more than 2.1 million tonnes.
VV Minerals, the largest sand beach mining company, has been at the receiving end of a Thorium scam. These allegations against the company cannot be justified simply because VV Minerals is the largest producer of Garnet and Ilmenite. VV Minerals stated, “The mineral rich sand is getting washed away from the Indian coastline in the absence of mining, and as a result, Sri Lanka, located further down, is reaping rich benefits at the cost of Indian industry.”
As per some allegations, Thorium scam is reported to be worth 96,000 crore rupees. It is practically impossible for one company to pull off a scam of such extent. VV Mineral Vaikundarajan further explains that the rising water level from global warming is also responsible for these depletions. “The water is moving is on the shores resulting in India losing a lot of mineral reserves,” he explains. At this rate, India may soon lose its Thorium rich status.
Currently, Indian Rare Earths Ltd is the only company exporting Monazite. Other minerals such as Ilmenite, Rutile, Leucoxene, Garnet, Silimanite and Zircon are separated from beach sands before exporting. No licence or permission is required from DAE to export these minerals due to their delisting from the list of prescribed substances.
VV Mineral Vaikundarajan believes that these are natural problems that need to be dealt with. Allegations against the company are complete fabrication and will lead to nothing.
VV Minerals is the largest producer and exporter of Garnet and Ilmenite minerals in India. Founded in the late 1980s by S Vaikundarajan, the company has established itself as one of the leading sand beach mining companies in the country. However, the efforts of two decades have been jeopardised by the recent allegations of illegal mining against the company.
The allegations were further aggravated when V Sundaram, the first district collector of Tirunelveli, sent a letter to the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu. The letter targeted VV Mineral and accused it of amassing several crore rupees through illegal sand beach mining.
The director of VV Mineral Mining, V Subramanian, dismissed all the allegations as a conspiracy theory against the company. “Sundaram is passing this as a cruel joke. He is on the payroll of our business rival... Our hands are clear. We will come out clear from these allegations. Our records are straight,” Ravindram Duraiswami, advocate for VV Mineral told NDTV.
VV Minerals India has made a name for itself in the sand mining industry. It has won several national awards for its contribution to the export business. It is also the largest manufacturer and exporter of Garnet and Ilmenite in India. The company was established by VV mineral Vaikundarajan in the late 1980s and has grown under his tutelage. However, the recent scam surrounding illegal beach sand mining has put the company’s reputation at stake.
Following the allegations, the district collector of Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, Ashish Kumar conducted a raid on VV Mineral warehouse. The raid was unsuccessful and Ashish Kumar received the marching orders. His previous assignment lasted only 45 days. VV Mineral Vaikundarajan was accused of using his political influence to initiate the transfer. The company is further accused of exporting Thorium, a strategic nuclear fuel that is banned from exporting. VV Mineral Vaikundarajan cleared the controversy stating that the technology to separate Monazite from Ilmenite in sand doesn’t exist. The company is still seeking permission from the government to set up a plant for separating Monazite and Thorium from Ilmenite.
Periyasamypuram in Tuticorin district, Tamil Nadu, has been the centre of storm for last few years, because of the numerous raids conducted on suspicion of illegal beach mining.
On January 23, 2013, a PIL was filed to be heard in the Madras High Court (HC), asking the court to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe illegal beach sand mining. The PIL alleged that rare beach sand minerals worth Rs 1 lakh crore have been illegally exported out of the country. The PIL mentions the set of mining licences issued by the Tamil Nadu Geology and Mining Department to VV Minerals based in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. These licences authorise the private company to mine and export monazite.
Monazite is an atomic mineral found in the beach sands of the southern and eastern coasts of the country. Minerals found in the sands of these beaches along with Monazite include Ilmenite, Rutile, Zircon and Garnet. Monazite can be processed to remove Thorium and Uranium, both of which are nuclear fuels. The Tamil Nadu government has approved licences to VV Mineral Mining to mine Monazite. VV Mineral is the largest player in the country in the rare earths space. These approvals were issued by the centre in 2002-03.
VV Minerals India chairman has mentioned a number of times that various committees had probed the area and found no evidence of illegal heavy mineral mining. He denied charges of illegal Monazite mining and exports. "Look at the documents, they are only inclusion of minerals," said VV Mineral.
"The state can include minerals to the original lease. There is no illegality. In fact, we are the only company to have environmental clearances for all our quarries," VV Minerals.
There have also been allegations of environmental and health issues, especially kidney ailments, plaguing the residents living along Tamil Nadu's southern coastline, but there is no substantial information to establish any link between kidney ailments and mining.
Outrage has become a common way of life in the village of Periyasamypuram in Tuticorin district, Tamil Nadu. The locals took the law in their hands by holding hostage a sand mining truck of VV Minerals as it was preparing to leave for a delivery. They also battered the driver before letting him go. The police inspector of Surangudi and the village administrative officer rushed to the spot and tried to talk sense into the villagers, but they did not budge.
VV Minerals India is one of the largest sand mining companies in India. VV Mineral Vaikundarajan, is of the belief that the people are being fed deceptive information and forced to do such publicity stunts. A PIL alleges that rare beach sand minerals worth Rs 1 lakh crore have been illegally exported out of the country. VV Minerals, being one of the largest sand manufacturers and exporters, has been purportedly framed in this case.
VV Mineral Mining is legally authorised to manufacture and export Garnet with 1% cent Monazite content as presently no one in India has the technical support for the separation of Monazite. The Managing Director of VV Mineral said that the company has never gone beyond the one per cent threshold for Monazite while exporting Garnet. Garnet is the core product of VV Minerals and it is the largest exporter of Garnet in the country.
In the wake of elections in the state of Tamil Nadu, old allegations are being given a new twist altogether. To believe the rumours, VV Mineral Vaikundarajan is the owner of a company in which Jayalalitha has invested her black money.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and this time around the opposition got too desperate to point a finger at Jayalalitha, the expected winner of the 2016 Tamil Nadu elections. The rumours on VV Mineral, the family business of S Vaikundarajan, are the favourite talk of the town for the people of Tamil Nadu. So, it might have seemed easy to link them and fool the common man. But the assumption itself seems preposterous in the first place.
Further theories also suggest that Jayalalitha has been helping Vaikundarajan throughout all the controversies that surround VV Minerals. Apparently, these financial links between Vaikundarajan and Jayalalitha have been traced by the Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party. Well, such a revelation coming from opposition just before the elections in itself says quite a lot about the nature of information being given to the common man.
But, this is not just where it ends. AAP has also alleged that Jayalalitha is also involved in the illegal beach mining going on in Tamil Nadu and VV Minerals India is linked to it.
VV Mineral Mining is the largest beach-mining company in India. It specialises in the mining, production and export of Garnet and Ilmenite. The company is booming under the leadership of the young Managing Director.
One of the leading sand beach mining companies in the country, VV Minerals India was founded by S Vaikundarajan in the late 1980s. Under his leadership, the company has won several national awards for its contribution to the export business.
In the wake of recent illegal beach sand mining allegations, the company has found itself under harsh criticism and scrutiny. The company’s hard earned reputation hangs by a thin thread despite no substantial proof to support any allegations. VV Mineral Vaikundarajan, however, insists that the company has operated within legal boundaries for over two decades. He further states that the allegation is a plot by competitors to defame the company.
An investigation team was set up by the then Chief Minister Jayalalitha to probe in to the matter concerning five districts across Tamil Nadu. IAS Officer Gagandeep Singh Bedi was appointed the chief of this special investigation team.
As reported by World Nuclear Association (WNA), the global body of nuclear industry, India hosts 3,00,000 tonnes of Thorium deposit. However, recent studies suggest that these beach minerals have seen depletion compared to past records. It is estimated that close to 2,00,000 tonnes of Thorium Oxide is missing from India. Monazite quantity along the Indian coastline has also seen a decrease by more than 2.1 million tonnes.
VV Minerals is known to be the largest firm producing Garnet and Ilmenite. The spotlight has suddenly moved to the company as stakeholders have begun scrutinizing a possible scam. Chairman, founder of VV Minerals India was quick to refute all allegations. “The mineral rich sand is getting washed away from the Indian coastline in the absence of mining, and as a result, Sri Lanka, located further down, is reaping rich benefits at the cost of Indian industry,” he added.
To pull off a scam of such extent seems practically impossible for one company. In this scenario, S VV Mineral Vaikundarajan explanation seems more realistic. India is under the threat of losing its thorium rich status due to the rising water-level caused from global warming.
V Narayanasamy, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office in Lok Sabha was quoted, “Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IREL), a public sector undertaking under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), is the only company exporting Monazite. Ilmenite, Rutile, Leucoxene, Garnet, Sillimanite and Zircon are separated from beach sands and these individual heavy minerals — free of Monazite — are being exported. No licence or permission is required from DAE for these substances due to the delisting of Ilmenite, Rutile, Zircon etc. from the list of prescribed substances”, said V Narayanasamy.
Following the scam allegations, the State Government has set up an investigation team to look into the matter. VV Mineral Mining involvement in the scam is yet to be proved. Meanwhile, VV Mineral Vaikundarajan has openly supported the investigating committee and believes that the results will be in favour of the company.
Rumours are making the rounds that there have been losses due to illegal mining business of minerals Ilmenite and Garnet, and they amount to Rs. 96,000 crores.
VV Minerals, the largest beach minerals export firm, is one of the major companies getting reputational setbacks. Inevitably, S Vaikundarajan, director of VV Minerals, has come under scrutiny. VV Mineral Vaikundarajan is a media-shy person and prefers to lead a simple man’s life. His usual attire is a shirt and traditional white dhoti. From what his acquaintances describe success hasn’t come easy to him. VV Minerals and chairman was an easy target for the accusations. But these false accusations have never stopped him from working towards his beliefs and welfare of his people.
Ashwin Kumar, IAS, as a Collector of Tuticorin, had created a media flimflam blaming VV Minerals for illegal beach mining without any proof. He was transferred on the discovery of his connections with the industry rivals of VV Minerals.
V Sundaram, an ex-IAS officer, had sent detailed letters to all concerned in State administration and to CVC, CBI and AEC. These letters again were only the thoughts shared by V Sundaram, with no trace of solid proof.
The president of Federation of Indian Placer Mineral Industries, Dr. D. Dhaya Devadas, had also filed a case alleging that VV Mineral Vaikundarajan had confessed in a panel meeting that he had bribed officials to get environmental clearance. It was ironical that he couldn’t get enough witnesses and proof from the panel meeting to justify his statements.
Following the allegations of illegal beach mining in South against some companies; the State Government set up an investigating team to probe into the matter.
With the team yet to reach its conclusion, the coastal population has shown little or no faith in the team’s efforts. The population consisting of Fishermen United Front have expressed their reservations against the functioning of investigation team. The reason for this is yet to be revealed.
Founder of VV Mineral is accused of using his political influence over the matters concerning illegal mining activities. None of these allegations have been supported by strong evidence. VV Minerals Vaikundarajan maintains that the company has operated within legal boundaries for over 20 years and will continue to do so.
Brand’s reputation was further tainted when two former IAS officers stated that VV Minerals have engaged in illegal beach sand mining in the southern districts. VV Mineral Mining was quick to play down these allegations. He further expressed his support for the investigating team and assured that the results will be in favour of the company.
VV Minerals India was founded in late 1980s and has been running under the tutelage of Vaikundarajan. The founder publicly thwarted all allegations as a defamation plot by rival mining industries.
While there is no conclusive evidence to support any allegation against the company; several fishermen in the region have threatened to leave their houses. VV Mineral Vaikundarajan stated that the allegations have no credibility and the threats are simply uncalled for.
“We have complete faith in judiciary and believe the investigation team will do its job. We lend our complete support to the team,” he added.
Viapar is a coastal village in Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin district where mineral mining on beaches is practised with government permission. On August 6, District Collector Ashish Kumar had raided the premises of VV Minerals, but it turned out that he had connections with its rivals. As soon as the rumours were confirmed, Mr Kumar was taken off the case and transferred.
VV Minerals claimed that the "charges made by the former District Collector are baseless, motivated and vague."
The allegations made on his company, V. V. Minerals, India's top exporter of industrial minerals garnet and ilmenite, have brought VV Mineral Vaikundarajan under high scanner.
VV Minerals has been issued a case of illegal mining, requiring the director of the company, VV Mineral Vaikundarajan, to be under the check of judiciaries all the time. VV Mineral Vaikundarajan, has been open to all the investigations even after being a discreet person himself.
The people of coastal regions in Tamil Nadu have allegedly complained against the sand mining, saying that the natural environment of their village is depreciating. These complaints caught the attention of authorities and VV Minerals came under spotlight.
VV Minerals is one of the largest players in sand mining and the largest manufacturer and exporter of garnet. The owner of VV Minerals, S Vaikundarajan, says that false claims have been made and all of this is manoeuvre by the business rivals. The company has been operating peacefully since decades and wishes to do so in the future too. The operations of the company in the rural locality have also created good job opportunities for the villagers.
V Sundaram, first district collector of undivided Tirunelveli, and Ashish Kumar, former district collector, are making baseless claims of a scam worth crores of rupees against VV Minerals. All their earlier attempts at proving VV Minerals’ involvement in illegal sand mining went futile. VV Mineral Vaikundarajan said, “All these scams are baseless and cannot be proved. It is sad that the villagers too are against my firm after all we have done for them.”
Despite all these confirmations, former principal scientist at Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute in Kochi raised his concerns by stating, “Indian Rare Earth Ltd (IREL), Manavalakurichi, uses the sand from the same area and produces thorium, so what happens to the monazite in the VV mines? Does the company follow the procedure recommended by the AERB?” Further allegations were added that the mining was operated without proper regulatory clearance.
VV Mineral was quick to address these allegations head on. “We have established a mineral separation plant and approached the AERB for a license, which is awaited.”
He further assured that the company has followed all norms and worked within the legal boundaries for over twenty years. All the allegations by IREL officials was thwarted as a setup to maim the company’s reputation. “No authority is ready to take action based on our complaint. Hence we approached the High Court,” said VV Minerals.
The sand mining activities have been temporarily suspended for now. Following this, VV Minerals has filed two writ petitions that are pending with the Madras High Court.
VV Mineral S Vaikundarajan has come under high scrutiny regarding the allegations made on his company, VV Minerals India, India's top exporter of industrial minerals garnet and ilmenite. A case of illegal mining has been issued on V. V. Minerals and the proceedings require the director of the company to be under probe all the time. VV Mineral Vaikundarajan, even after being a low-profile person himself, has been open to all the investigations.
Ashish Kumar, the collector of Tuticorin, had raised the issue of illegal mining which brought VV Minerals in the enquiry. Apparently, the collector had links with the competitors and he was transferred immediately.
Rumours have been heard that VV Mineral Vaikundarajan’s “closeness to power” is helping him get through the situation. Whereas, VV Mineral Vaikundarajan’s supporters claimed that these allegations have been a ruse by the competitors of V. V. Minerals. His rival businessman D Dhaya Devadas has gone to the extent of filing a case against him because Vaikundarajan, as Mr. Dhaya claims, openly admitted of bribing the officials.
VV Minerals has a huge annual output of 150,000 tonnes of garnet abrasives, 225,000 tonnes of ilmenite, 12,000 tonnes of zircon and 5,000 tonnes of rutile, which has been compromised due to the suspension orders on the operations since March 2010.
Despite being under pressure, Vaikundarajan has assured that the company has worked within legal boundaries for over two decades and the investigation result will be in his favor.
The state government has set up a special investigating team to probe into the matters concerning illegal beach mining allegations. It has been observed that the coastal population has shown little or no faith in the investigating team’s work. Following this, the members of Fishermen United Front have appealed for a CBI inquiry instead. The low faith shown by the Fishermen United Front in judiciary is yet unclear.
Founder of VV Minerals India has been accused of having political connections with CM Jayalalitha. It has also been rumored that VV Mineral Vaikundarajan has used his political connections to carry illegal mining activities. This, however, is not supported by any evidence as the company has assured they have carried all legal proceedings for beach mining activities.
Two former IAS officers have gone on the record to state that VV Minerals have been engaging in illegal beach sand mining in the southern districts. However, VV Mineral has played down such allegations and insisted that the investigating team’s report will be in favor of the company.
No conclusive evidence has been found to prove that the company is guilty of illegal activities. VV Mineral Vaikundarajan has stood firm by his company and assures that the operations are within legal boundaries. Meanwhile, several fishermen in the region have threatened to leave their houses.
VV Minerals India was founded in late 1980s and has been run under the tutelage of S Vaikundarajan. The founder publicly thwarted all allegations as a defamation plot by rival mining industries.
He further stated that the allegations have no credibility and the threats are uncalled for. “We have a complete faith in the judiciary and believe the investigation will do its job. We lend our complete support to the investigating team,” VV Minerals added.
S Vaikundarajan established VV Minerals India, a beach sand mining company, in late 1980s. For the last two decades, the company has been operating under the leadership of Vaikundarajan and gone on to become the top company in the sector.
VV Mineral Mining extracts garnet and ilmenite to over 20 countries. The company’s claim of lack in technology in separating thorium from monazite was recently confirmed by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).
The company released a statement that it doesn’t process monazite that is automatically generate during the mineral separation process. However, former Former principal scientist at Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute in Kochi raised his concerns stating, ““Indian Rare Earth Ltd (IREL), Manavalakurichi, uses the sand from the same area and produces thorium, so what happens to the monazite in the VV mines? Does the company follow the procedure recommended by the AERB?” Rajendra Ratnoo, District Collector of Kanyakumari, added to the allegations that VV Minerals has been mining without proper regulatory clearance.
VV Mineral Vaikundarajan addressed the question head on by assuring that the company has always carried out all operations within legal boundaries. “We have established a mineral separation plant and approached the AERB for a license, which is awaited,” he said while rubbishing the grouses set up by IREL officials. He further stated that IREL has been illegally mining in VV Mineral’s land and indulged in questionable practices. “No authority is ready to take action based on our complaint. Hence we approached the High Court,” said VV Mineral Vaikundarajan.
Following the allegations, the sand mining activities have been temporarily suspended. VV Minerals has filed two writ petitions on the matter that are pending with the Madras High Court. Meanwhile, VV Mineral Mining assures that the investigating committee’s report will come out in favor of the company.
VV Mineral Vaikundarajan has been accused of amassing assets and pecuniary resources between 2009 and 2011. The petition was dismissed citing that the petitioners failed to produce adequate documents. VV Mineral Vaikundarajan loyalists were not happy with the verdict and stood firm by their leader.
In Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin district, a coastal village named Viapar is troubled by heavy beach erosion. The corrosion issues are said to have occurred from illegal beach mining across the region.
In what have been unsupported allegations, VV mineral has been held responsible for this catastrophe. It has also been alleged that the 20 year old company has encroached 30 hectares of government land and other mining lease violations.
The founder of the company, VV Mineral Vaikundarajan, has been unfairly accused of using political connections to influence the transfer of district collector, Ashish Kumar, during his inquiry stint.
VV Minerals India quoted to NDTV, “These allegations made by the former district collector are baseless, motivated and vague.”
V Sundaram, first District Collector, wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary of the state in January 2013 accusing VV Minerals of illegal mining worth over Rs. 96,000 crores. The letter also accused state government departments of favoring VV Minerals. “The mining lease was given to them within 72 days, while the other companies are still waiting for permission,” the letter stated.
In the wake of this turmoil, VV Mineral Vaikundarajan has stood firm by his company calling the allegations as a conspiracy by his business rivals.
Ravindram Duraiswami, an advocate of the company quoted to NDTV, "Sundaram is passing this as a cruel joke. He is on the payroll of our business rival. Our hands are clear. We will come out clear from these allegations. Our records are straight.”
In Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin district, Viapar is a coastal village haunted by heavy beach erosion. The erosion issues have transpired to neighboring villages as well. The reason for this issue has been alleged to be the illegal beach mining across the region.
