V. V. Minerals Expands Operations To Odisha

V. V. Minerals is planning for excavation and refining of the mineral in Odisha. The investment of this project is estimated to be around Rs 100 crores.

V. V. Minerals is a Tamil Nadu-based mining firm having largest market share in ilmenite production and exports, and one of the largest Indian companies in the sand mining business.

“We are planning to apply for 2-3 areas in Odisha for excavating ilmenite and garnet. We will also invest Rs 75 crore to 100 crore for establishing a mineral refining plant in the state,” said V Subramaniun, director of the firm. VVM is the first private exporter of ilmenite and is the leading manufacturer and exporter of the mineral.

 “Production of ilmenite has been slow in India due to tough regulations and limited awareness about it. The government must change its position on the mineral,” added Subramaniun.

“Along with the tough regulations, the processing of lease grant should be made faster if we want to tap its potential because apart from exports, the mineral will be in huge demand from domestic market in future,” said the V. V. Mineral official.

Ilmenite is upgraded to titanium dioxide to be used in consumer goods like paper, plastic, paint colour and cosmetic industries such as sunscreen. The proposal of V. V. Minerals is strategically important as Kolkata-based Saraf Agencies Private Ltd (SAPL) is constructing a titanium slag plant near Gopalpur with an investment of Rs 250 crore. These plants use ilmenite as feedstock.      

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.

VV Mineral V Subramanian Speaks On VV Titanium Pigment’s 100 Crore Investment In Coated Rutile Plant

VV Titanium Pigments will invest Rs 100 Crore for its expansion strategy into a Coated Rutile Plant. As a private entity, this will be the largest investment made for meeting the demand of Indian Tio2 consumers.

The Coated Rutile Plant is expected to be functional by the 1st quarter of 2016. Back in 2014, VVTi had successfully launched Basic Rutile.

“The plant will be built using German technology that will allow less dependency on water and thus saving almost 1/3 expenses as compared to similar plan. It is expected to employ over 200 people and indirectly benefit more than 5000 people,” said VV Mineral Vaikundarajan. This is the next big project under VV group after acquiring Kilburn Chemicals.

The plant will cater to Indian market benefiting the paints and plastic industry that has depended on exports from China, Japan and other western countries. The demand of TiO2 is said to be around 300000 mtpa whereas the country produces only 60000 mtpa.

Managing Director of VV Group of Companies, VV Mineral V Subramanian said, “We are excited about announcing the Coated Rutile Plant project and commercial production of base rutile TiO2 which will bridge the demand supply gap faced by our country. We are positive about the value proposition once the new coated rutile plant is functional as this is ‘Made in India’ catering to Indian market. We are confident that the new German energy-efficient technology would help develop a zero-waste manufacturing facility, a first of its kind in India.”

VV Titanium Pigments (Branch Of VV Minerals) Plans Rs. 100 Cr Expansion

The leading producer and exporter of Anatase grade Titanium Dioxide, VV Titanium Pigments, a part of VV Group, is planning to invest Rs.1000 million into a Coated Rutile Plant. This expansion is a part of its strategy to widen the industry.

This is one of the largest investments made by any private entity exclusively for meeting the demand of discerning Indian Tio2 consumers. The Coated rutile plant is expected to be operational by 2016 first quarter.

The state-of-the-art plant will be environmentally sustainable as there will be less dependence on water, following the company’s motto of keeping a environmentally friendly sustainable plant. This is its second huge foray into the industry after VV Group acquired Kilburn Chemicals, currently known as V V Titanium Pigments at Tuticorin.

The new plant will cater exclusively to the Indian market and will be beneficial to the indigenous paints and plastic industry that depends on exports from China, Japan and western countries.     

VV Minerals is the leading company that indulges in heavy mineral mining in Tuticorin is VV Minerals India. They are India’s biggest mining, manufacturers and exporters of Garnet. They have been awarded as the ‘Number One Garnet Exporters’ of our country. They also undertake Zircon Mining, Rutile Mining and Ilmenite Mining.