VV Mineral – a socially Responsible Organization

To begin with VVM had initially started with issuing free note books to the underprivileged and needy students in and around of processing plant area and other required areas too.

After the successful completion of this activity every year, VVM has done the following new projects as well subsequently in part of our corporate social responsibility

a)      Free medical camp in the villages

b)     Free medical treatment through our VV Health Centre

c)      Interest free loan to coastal village women to motivate them to start self group industry

d)     Construct compound wall to required school

e)      Free Land issued to construction of Water tank in Navalady village, Radhapuram Taluk

f)    Free Land issued to construction of Community Hall for conducting functions, events by village with free of cost.

g)      Free solar lamp provided to college students

h)     Free toilet facility provided to village people

It doesn’t end here. The company has given a ray of hope to a lot of children by sponsoring their education. It’s rare to see companies indulge in such activities and also doing it so humbly that the world is unaware of their good deeds. It’s organizations like these that make world a better place to be!

Taxes leading to reduced GDP from mining: Sanjay Pattnaik

At the annual general meeting of Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), Sanjay Pattnaik, Executive Director of Tata Sponge Iron (TSIL), was elected as the national president of the body.

An excerpt from his interview in the meeting:

What are the challenges before the industry?

Mining involves numerous stakeholders, and hence, its revival depends on strong coordination not only between miners and the government, but also among the state and central governments.

Foremost of all, the annual cap of 30 MT imposed by the Supreme Court needs to be removed to allow the industry to grow.

India has the highest tax rates on minerals in the world. Effective tax-rate, the ratio of value of all amounts paid to the government to value of profits before taxes, is approximately 69% for operating mines in India compared to resource-rich nations like Canada (34%), Australia (40%), and South Africa (40%).

In addition to royalty, miners have to make several other payments such as DMF (30% on royalty for existing mines and 10% on royalty for auctioned mines), NMET-National Mineral Exploration Trust (2% on royalty), service tax (15% on royalty), sales tax, environment and forest levies, and other cess/taxes by local institutions, panchayats, etc.

These taxes make the domestic raw materials costly and unviable for manufacturing, leading to imports and reduced GDP from mining.

In another interview with the beach mining tycoon, Vaikundarajan, the MD and CEO of the largest beach mining company in India - V. V. Minerals, he had echoed the same thoughts. Obviously, even the beach and sand mining companies face the same issues with the policies of the government.

50 Villages In Ajmer On Development Road, Says Vaikundarajan

Over 50 villages in the district of Ajmer have been identified by the local authorities as mining-affected areas. The managing committee of Mineral Foundation Trust found that these villages suffer heavily due to lack of health and educational reforms. The villages are not connected by good roads and there is a shortage of drinking water. “To curb these problems, the managing committee will issue a programme where 10% of the royalty on minerals will be dedicated to the betterment of the villages,” informs Vaikundarajan, founder of VV Minerals India.

Ajmer is known to be the leading mining regions in the state for quartz, phosphorous, lead, building stones and similar minerals. Most villagers here work in the mines. The shortage of water affects the health of villagers and children in a great way. At this point, setting up a programme to improve the lifestyle of villagers and get them the basic requirements is the need of the hour.

“Taking all of this into consideration, the district administration has proposed ways to improve the health facilities, pollution control system and school education for children. The proposal will be presented to the council of the foundation,” adds Vaikundarajan. 

Underuse of Rare Earth Minerals

As per industry reports, the rare earth industry in India is underused and lies wasted. The Indian Rare Earth Industry is worth Rs. 90,000 crore of annual turnover.

As per estimates by Beach Minerals Producers Association, the industry can net a capital employment of about Rs 121,000 crore.

The rare earths found in India are one of the most significant ones. Collectively called Beach Sand Minerals (BSM), they include Ilmenite, Sillimanite, Garnet, Zircon, Monazite and Rutile and amount for almost 35 per cent of the world’s total beach sand mineral deposits.

"In 1998, they started freeing up the industry and in 2006, those minerals were taken off the prescribed substances list and for some reason, they have recently been put back on. So, the country has actually gone backwards. There is no justification," said Grant Smith, director-overseas operations at V. V. Minerals. "No one is getting the licences. It has been reserved specifically for PSUs through the DAE (department of atomic energy). So, at the moment, it is only the IndiaRare Earths and the Kerala operations."

"There is a perception here in India that monazite is an atomic mineral. It is actually not. Monazite is just a mineral that contains thorium and very very small amounts of uranium. But the major constituent in monazite is rare earth," said Smith. "In today’s world, China controls over 95 per cent of the rare earth market. India is not realizing any potential. You have to separate the mineral monazite from its constituents. None of the other rare earths have any thorium in them. They are associated in the ore body but not in the actual mineral."

C Swamydas, chief advisor for V V Minerals, said that proposals have been given to take on all the cost of setting up the plant, and even pay to let the atomic energy department put its own people process monazite. He added that, "We shall give the thorium (produced) to the government for free. They can store it for future use."

Though there is so much potential and scope, the industry lacks clear policies for beach and sand mining. This results in unclear rules and misleading on allegations of illegal sand mining beach mining companies.

Goa Government Lifts Mining Transportation Ban

In a positive move for the mining industry, the Goa government has finally permitted the state mining industry to resume its operation in Goa. “The Goa government had restricted mining operation due to monsoons. With the monsoons behind us, mining industry can resume its operations,” says Vaikundarajan, founder of VV Minerals India, one of the largest sand beach mining companies in India.

Mining operations should be in full swing by the start of October. Prasanna Acharya, director of Mines and Geology, issued a statement informing the mining companies of the ban having been lifted.

The transportation of mineral by road was banned in the interest of public safety after some accidents on the main road came to light. On the request of locals, the government decided to ban transportation of minerals till monsoon had rescinded.

“Public safety is of utmost importance. With the lack of mining transportation roads in Goa, the trucks took to main road. A couple of accidents were reported by locals and the government was quick to take an action. Transportation was suspended till monsoon was over. The government also plans to construct a dedicated road for mining transportation,” says Vaikundarajan.

Thorium Scam Doesn’t Exist, Says Vaikundarajan

The World Nuclear Association stated that India has seen a considerable decline in the amount of thorium deposits. The beach minerals have depleted from 300000 tonnes to 200000 tonnes across the Indian coastline. Monazite quantity has also decreased by more than 2.1 million tonnes.

Being the largest producer of Garnet and Ilmenite, VV Minerals is being scrutinised by the stake holders. However, S Vaikundarajan, founder of 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.”

To pull off a scam of such extent is impossible for one company alone. Due to global warming, the rising water level is causing a lot of problems across the world. With the water moving in on the shores, India may lose a lot of mineral reserves. Soon, India may also lose its Thorium rich status.

Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IREL), a public sector undertaking under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), is the only company exporting Monazite said V Narayanasamy, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), to the Lok Sabha, on November 30, 2011. Monazite is a source of Thorium.

“Ilmenite, Rutile, Leucoxene, Garnet, Sillimanite and Zircon are separated from beach sands and these individual heavy minerals — free of Monazite — are being exported.” said the Minister.

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.

We Are Selling Necessary Minerals To Markets Around The Globe

Introduction: S Vaikundarajan brings to everyone’s notice that the minerals that they extract and export are essentials in producing everyday household objects. He rubbishes the rumours about scamming the country for minerals that he was not even aware of until smeared with claims of an alleged scam. Which in addition to the matter, he is sure is an effort in defaming his enviably successful organisation, VV Minerals India

VV Mineral is a two-decade-old company and has been mining beach sand on the Kanyakumari, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu coasts. We don’t have the technology to separate thorium from monazite, a rare earth ore found in the area.

Even the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has put us in the clear on that matter. VV Mineral India extracts and exports garnet and ilmenite to 20 countries, including Australia and the US. 

Nuclear scientists in India have been working on an indigenous technology to utilise thorium, widely available on the southern sea coast, in nuclear power plants. And for the very same reason the Jawaharlal Nehru government has banned all private mining companies from extracting or dealing in a whole list of rare earths.

“VV Mineral does not process monazite if the government claims that it is automatically generated during the mineral separation process in the form of tailings then it is an aspect of mining that they should have thought of much earlier”, says Vaikundarajan.

Indian Rare Earth Ltd (IREL) on the other hand uses the sand from the same area and produces thorium in Manavalakurichi. 

“Without questioning IREL’s disposal methods, VV Mineral stopped receiving permits for mining but we have challenged the matter in the High Court,” , says Vaikundarajan.

Water Conservation In Heavy Mineral Mining Activities Of VV Mineral

Water is the most vital assets among the others found on earth. It is the premise of human presence. Water albeit bounteously accessible today won't generally be accessible. Along these lines a venture to save water is the venture to secure what's to come.

In the event that each individual requires the push to preserve water today, it will provide for us a superior shot of survival later. Water protection is a process that can decrease the lack of water. It means to enhance the effectiveness of utilization of water, and decrease misfortunes and waste. VV Mineral Group observed World Water Day in there organization.

Substantial mineral mining exercises oblige a considerable measure of water as it includes washing courses of action of the mineral sands.

VV Mineral, Mining is India's biggest Mining, Manufacturer and Exporter of Garnet & Ilmenite. Secured in 1989, the organization have attained to huge piece of the pie in Europe, Middle East, East Asia, Australia and USA. It is family developed business began by Mr. S Vaikundarajan, Chairman of VV Group of organizations.

VV Minerals India is an environment-accommodating association which has taken different strides through the years to preserve water through savvy utilization of water in its operations. Being a water cognizant organization, VVM does not utilize crisp water as a part of mining process and does not utilize chemicals as a part of its focus plants. Because of it’s proceeded with endeavors, VV Minerals is now sparing more than 1.2 million KL water consistently. They additionally utilize wind factories to create power.

Heavy Mineral Mining Creating Alternate Employment For Locals Says VV Minerals

VV Mineral says fishing, which is a seasonal profession lasts for about five months from September to January, while for the remainder of the seven months of the year fishing can be a difficult task. The length of the coastline of Gulf of Mannar is 223.90 kms.

Some people believe that the livelihoods of fishermen are affected by the process of heavy mineral mining. Some also feel that the development of fisheries is being challenged by the mining process. Such distress and confusion can be seen in the state of Tamil Nadu.

However, this is not the case. The truth is that the heavy mineral mining along the coastline helps in generating employment, especially in the non-season months, thereby increasing the standard of living of the fishermen in the area.

This upgrade occurs owing to the additional income garnered in other activities. 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 throughout the year. 

VV Minerals is the company that is taking the initiative in the generation of alternate employement in the district of Tuticorin.

The organization is one among the elite heavy mineral mining companies around the globe. It is a family grown business and the organization is owned by Mr. S. Vaikundarajan. They have been awarded as the ‘Number One Garnet Exporters’ of our country. They also undertake Zircon mining, Rutile mining and Ilmenite mining.

Vaikundarajan, Mineral Sand Producer, Finds Hope After Supreme Court’s Order Trumps High Court’s Direct

For a period of time, the heavy mineral mining industry was suffering from losses owing to postponement in the renewal of leases for beach sand mining. The Supreme Court’s ruling gives companies such as VV Mineral, India some relief. The Supreme Court has ordered a deadline to be maintained.

Earlier in the year, special inspection teams raided VV Mineral sand quarry to find some evidence of the large scale illegal heavy mineral mining along the beaches of Vembar, Vaipar and Periyasamipuram in regards to the thorium scam. Unsurprisingly, no such illegal activity was found at any of the quarries run by VV Mineral. Sadly, other companies in the industry were found conducting illegal beach mining. These companies now have fines imposed on them.

VV Mineral, one of the country’s biggest sand mining producers is involved in garnet mining, zircon mining, ilmenite mining and rutile mining. A privately owned firm by S Vaikundarajan and son V Subramanian, the firm has garnered a very strong impression in the industry. The firm practises safe and environmentally friendly methods while conducting its business.

VV Mineral, Vaikundarajan Pioneers The Heavy Mineral Market Across The World

VV Mineral a heavy mineral mining company is based in Tamil Nadu and owned by a father-son duo Mr. S Vaikundarajan and his son V Subramanian. Their Garnet and Ilmenite division is based in Keeraikaranthattu Tisayanvilai in Tamil Nadu.

They deal with heavy mineral mining of minerals such as Garnet, Ilmenite, Rutile and Zircon. They also produce Titanium Dioxide pigments. They are the only company in India to produce TiO2 pigments. Ilmenite is a very important raw material used in the making of TiO2. This mineral is abundantly found on the beaches of Tisayanvilai. This is a major advantage for VV Minerals, India. They are the first company in India to export ilmenite to other nations, hence, pioneering the path for others in the industry for export of heavy minerals. They have a huge market share in East Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia.

However, due to some cumbersome government permission processes and high duties imposed on the products the industry is not developing as much as its real potential is. VV Mineral, Vaikundarajan may be the best in the industry, but they are still falling short on the amount of material production from their units. Because the amount of heavy minerals available to india is much higher than the actual amount that is mined manufactured and exported. As a result, the waves that bring in these minerals also take them away and make them settle on shores of other neighboring nations.

Countries like Sri Lanka and Australia are benefitting greatly because of the under-utilization of minerals from our end. Because the minerals that we do not use go and settle on their shores and they have the capability and understanding of the importance of such minerals.