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.
The local industry has laid off many due to the ban on beach mineral mining in Tamil Nadu. The ban was imposed in August 2013 and has seriously affected the lifestyle of locals causing a loss to the exchequer.
"The local industry is nearly without job as a result of the ban that was effected in August last year. It has rendered joblessness to around 50,000 people including 15,000 of ours," V V Mineral's Managing Partner VV Mineral V Subramanian said. "The country is loosing forex amounting to at least Rs 10,000 crore a year," he claimed.
VV Mineral, a beach mining company founded in late 1980s, is country’s largest mining, manufacturer and exporter of garnet and ilmenite.
The ban resulted from complaints of illegal mining has affected nearly five coastal districts. An inquiry commission has been set up to look into the matter.
Beach mining from mineral sands is found only in coastal states such as Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra. Sands contain minerals such as garnet, ilmenite, rutile, zircon and sillimanite which are used in varied areas such as aircraft and paper industries.
VV Minerals accounts to about 75% of beach mineral mining activity in the state of Tamil Nadu. The state itself contributes to around 85% of the country’s total exports of 6.5 lakh tonnes of garnet.
VV Mineral V Subramanian explains that the current state of beach mining is relenishable. “In the absence of mining, such minerals are being carried away by sea waves and as a result, Sri Lanka, located further down, is reaping rich benefit at the cost of Indian industry. The ban on mining is impacting Indian firms' reputation as trusted partners with customers overseas. It is causing an annual loss of around Rs 300 crore to the state exchequer as well," he said.
The reopening of the mines could attract some few hundred crore of investment in the sector in Tamil Nadu, he said, adding his own company is likely to invest Rs 300 crore for enhancing capacity of value addition in the existing facility.
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.
The new mining laws have put private rare earth mineral sector in an uncertain position. With the industry raising their concern against the law, the Centre has decided to come out with rules governing leases of atomic minerals. VV Mineral Mining is India’s largest garnet miner and exporter. “These minerals are used in ceramic and higher technology items. The origin of these minerals is traced to Western Ghats,” informs VV Minerals India.
The local industry has laid off many due to the ban on beach mineral mining in Tamil Nadu. The ban was imposed in August 2013 and has seriously affected the lifestyle of locals causing a loss to the exchequer. 
