Bauxite mining not harmful but helpful for developing lush green forest: Dr Chand

A National Conference of Mine and Mineral based industries, Geomintech 2022 was held in Bhubaneswar with large number of participants from mining and other industries coming from different parts of the country. After Covid this is one of the highly attended conference in Bhubaneswar. The theme of the 22nd Annual Conference was New Equipment – New Technology Management and Safety in Mine and Mineral based industries. The conference was inaugurated by Dr Tapan Chand as Chief Guest and Prof D D Mishra, Chairman IIT, ISM Dhanbad.

In his key note address Dr D D Mishra appreciated the contribution of Mining industry in growth and development. In the conference Dr Chand told that Consent to Operate (CTO) need to be taken from the society apart from the government. Taking society on board will help miners todo smooth mining. Scientific mining, Zero wastage mine, zero discharge mine, use of new technology like IoT, Artificial Intelligence, AR&VR, Drone etc need to be promoted. Beautifully explaining how bauxite mining is not harmful but helpful for making green forest growth, Dr Chand told that bauxite ore do not allow percolation of water and that is the reason why big and deep rooted trees do not grow in areas having bauxite. Once the bauxite is removed the soil becomes fertile and develops lush green forest. He quoted the example of Damanjodi where reclaimed mining area are having thick green forest. Since the peripheral people are having aspiration for getting employment with the opening of mine, there should be every effort to promote value addition. Companies working on entire value chain in the state should be supported by the state and society. In this context he informed that Vedanta is not having any captive mines of bauxite yet it makes full value addition by purchasing bauxite and importing bauxite from outside.

The National meet was addressed by B L Gurjar, Regional Controller of Mines IBM, Krishnendu Mandal, Director Mines Safety, Dr UC Jenna, Additional Director Mines, Govt of Odisha, O P Singh, CMD MCL, Manoj Kumar, CMD CMPDIL, Prof Vergilio Abellan, San Carlos University, Prof Jong Gwan, Kim National University South Korea. The conference will continue for two days with many scholars and luminaries addressing the session and presenting papers. National Geomintech conferred Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr Tapan Chand. Prof DD Mishra, Dr Tapan Chand and other dignitaries felicitated Shri OPSingh, CMD MCL for his outstanding performance. Manoj Kumar, CMD CMPDIL was also felicitated in virtual mode.

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