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.
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 Mineral, one of the largest exporters of beach minerals in India, was founded by VV Mineral Vaikundarajan in the late 1980s. It has won several national awards for its contribution to the export business. In an interview with Governance Today, V Subramanian speaks on India’s position in the global market and its growth.
Governance Today: What is the size of heavy minerals market in India?
V Subramanian: India has nearly 35% of world deposits but contributes only 4% of global production. The total beach sand resources in India are 942.58 million tonnes comprising of Ilmenite, Zircon, Rutile, Garnet, Sillimanite and Leucoxene.
Governance Today: How much does heavy minerals constitute in the total mining done in India?
V Subramanian: A paltry two per cent of the entire mining is done in India. Although India possesses the world’s largest reserves of heavy mineral sands at 25%-28%, its exploitation is very low at 5%- 6%.
Governance Today: What is the utility of the minerals and how are they important for Indian economy?
V Subramanian: Heavy minerals have a critical application in industries such as electronics, ceramics, pigments, paints, paper, plastics, pharmaceuticals, aerospace and defence. As you can see, they are important for our economy as they contribute to a large number of industries.
Governance Today: What are the major policy bottlenecks that are affecting industry growth despite the scope?
V Subramanian: Private sector gained entry in the market only 3 decades ago. The sector is growing and needs government’s support and backing. Some of the policy bottlenecks responsible holding us back are:
Mining and processing clearance is a long procedure with 18 government agencies involved
Ministry of Environment and Forest has 30 conditions in place for clearing mining. Some of them are impracticable
CRZ requirements are not in favour of beach mineral industry
Export licenses are to be renewed every year
Governance Today: What are the opportunities in this sector?
V Subramanian: We have an opportunity to benefit nearly 30,000 crore to the exchequer. The growth of mining industry will be a boost to India’s GDP. Private companies contribute about 5% of the world’s heavy mineral production. With the government’ support, this number can go up to 50% of the world’s production.
Governance Today: Where do you foresee this industry in next five years?
V Subramanian: The industry has a potential to grow up to 30-50 per cent in the next five years.
Governance Today: What is your annual output of heavy minerals each year in India?
V Subramanian: We export close to 7,00,000 tonnes of heavy minerals each year which is valued at Rs 850 crores approximately.
Governance Today: What is the infrastructure of VV Minerals and who are its close competitors?
V Subramanian: VV Mineral owns about 9 Mineral separation plants with each dry plant having its own pre-concentration plants, a huge fleet of trucks and earth moving equipment, 12 warehouses with a storage capacity of 600,000 tonnes, a full-fledged R&D Department, Exploration team with Drill Rig, Centralised laboratory and first of its kind Ship loader (which can load 21,000 tonnes/ day). We have few fellow mineral producers in India, namely Indian Rare Earth (Government of India), Trimex Sands, Indian Ocean Garnet Sands, and few other small companies.
Governance Today: What support do you need for developing heavy minerals mining in India?
VSubramanian: Quick clearance for the mining industry
Export incentives that allow India to be a competitive player in global market
Restrictive import policy
Simplification in process for MoEF as well as CRZ clearances
Lastly, there is not a single large scale independent mine operating in free market conditions in India. Ironically, the fallout of the restrictions imposed by has resulted in benefiting China which controls 90 per cent of the industry.
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.
