KERALA SCIENTIFIC MINING POLICY, 2014(Draft)
(Vide:Order No 7037/KSPB/ 13/I&I/SPB Dtd. 26-2-2014)
Introduction
1. As the state enjoys a typical tropical monsoon climate
with alternating wet and dry spells, the actual quarrying/ mining (strip or
surface) operations are feasible only during the rain free days of the calendar
year.
2a. Kerala has a relatively larger population of 31.8
million (Census 2011). In the gross total area of 38863 km2, the livable and
cultivable area is roughly 27,000 km2 and consequently leads to a higher
population density. As a result, several parcels of land with potentially
minable deposits are under never barren or fallow, but are set apart or already
set aside for agricultural/commercial/residential land-uses; in other words,
anything but mining related landuse.
This is despite the use of tax revenue in the
geo-scientific work of identification, exploration, valuation of mineral/s
wealth and delineation ore/mineral bearing land. Sadly, it has been the
practice or policy of the administration, to allocate ore/mineral bearing
parcels of land to a variety of purposes other than mining and extraction of
the valuable mineral wealth.
Recommendation: Therefore, it is strongly recommended that for
land parcels with proven mineral wealth the first priority of use or allocation
for use shall be for the mining/quarrying of the mineral wealth below the
ground. Only after completion of the mining activity and reclamation and
landscaping of the mine pit and restoring the surroundings, the land be
allocated for other uses.
For example the strip mines of English-India Clays in Akkulam,
Thiruvananthapuram are now the home of NCESS, NATPAC, Southern Air Command and
so on.
Backdrop of mining in Kerala
Modern quarrying/mining in Kerala is focused on china
clays, construction materials (extracted from the shallow skin of the earth’s
crust) and the cyclically renewed blacksand beach placer deposits (from the
beaches of Kollam and southern part of Alappuzha dist.) on an yearly basis.
The minable deposits of China clay occurrences are
localized in the southern districts of Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam and the
northern dist of Kannur. The clay mining in Kerala is undertaken by enterprises
that are either wholly publicly owned or under private ownership.
Quarrying/mining operations for rock and byproducts is
entirely vested with large and small private investors. In fact, in the
immediate preceding decades, the demand for rock rubble and coarse and fine aggregates,
showed an unprecedented upward spiral. Being rock rubble and its derivatives, these
fetch only a very low unit value.
Contrary to this, the unit value of black-sand placers (or
derivatives and separates), accumulating in the modern beaches of Chavara-Kayamkulam-Ambalapuzha
section, is huge. This accumulation is cyclical, in that it is systematically
annually renewed as a part of the beach building by the long travelled swells associated
with the SW monsoon.
2b. In respect of china clay, quarry products and placer
minerals varying degrees of value additions of one kind or other are already in
place.
Observation: In the
processing plants the ROM china clay goes through an elaborate process of
clarification aimed at value addition. The beach placer sand on the other hand
goes through a series of process by which the mineral species are separated. Only
KMML, TTP Ltd and CMRL are involved in value addition.
Observation: The proposed Institute for Critical Materials, under the auspices of
the KSCSTE and utilizing the monazite as the chief input, has a mission of
research, pilot plant operations, incubation and transfer of technology for the
commercialization of products.
2c. Without an efficient plan of transporting the finished
product or material from the place of manufacture to the potential markets/s, already at hand, prior to the first day of
activity, the profitability of the mining/quarrying enterprise could as well be
uncertain.
The road infrastructure in Kerala continues to be
insufficient or antique for modern multi-axle lorries or tractor-trailers. The
poor upkeep of the single carriage east-west trending roadways that connect
points in midland (and low highland?) where value added rock products are
manufactured, is indeed a huge bottleneck in the supply chain. However, the rail transport network, with
double-electric-traction lanes is nearly modern in Kerala.
Recommendation: Therefore the Committee recommends adoption
of measures for improving the road infrastructure for the safe passage of heavy
duty trucks ferrying products from quarries and mines.
2d. Recycling, brings into an average Keralite’s mind
recycling of plastic, glass, paper and other metallic scraps. But recycling in
the parlance of mining means entirely different input material.
Recommendation: The
scientific mining policy shall encourage, require or make mandatory, the
recycling of building rubble from demolition of buildings of all sorts through
a suitable manufacturing process, whereby coarse and fine aggregates are
manufactured for reuse.
2e.Glass bottles of various descriptions are in plenty in
our communities and consequently in our state. If this excellent feed stock is recycled
into fine aggregate, to a large extent the scarcity of this commodity in the
construction sector can be relived. We need to keep in mind that glass is
infinitely recyclable. The committee proposes incentives and encouragements for
enterprises and entrepreneurs in the
glass to fine aggregate conversion.
2f. In general, there is no immediate buyer or user of the stockpile
of stripped overburden in rock quarries/mines. This overburden is an excellent
source material to recover coarse and fine aggregates. Currently such material
remains condemned from any further downstream use. It is yet another example of
making wealth from waste.
2g. Disposal of unusable stripped waste is not without options.
Once the service life of the quarry/mine is reached, the quarried land is
recovered by refilling the void with quarry/mine waste and followed by
landscaping.
Recommendation: The recovery or reclamation of the
quarried/mined land shall be made mandatory and be declared as the
responsibility of the mining company.
3. Adopting more technology oriented scientific mining.
In the pre-independence days, i.e., during the days of
Raj/Maharaja, mining practice in Travancore state was purely either strip
mining or quarrying and minimally mechanized. In place of machines, several
types of hand-tools and human labour were intensively used.
In stockpiling of black sand of placers, gathering of in-stream
sand (as fine aggregate), or collecting and washing of lime-shell for
subsistence, human (both genders) labor was extensively used. Reasons for the low
level of mechanization could have been the dull market demand and plentiful
supply of workforce. .
In the post 90’s, a good deal of mechanization has come
into the strip mining sector, primarily to raise the output in order to meet
the market demand. Machines such as Bulldozers, Powershovels, Jackhammers,
dynamite, heavy duty tipper trucks and trained and skilled operators are a
common scene in the quarries/mines. Also
used extensively are various sorts of mechanized pumps to dewater the operational
area.
Recommendation: The mining sector truly needs use of more
machines for capacity expansion, to meet market demand. The mines and quarries
currently are one-shift operations. The Government shall encourage adding more
shifts in the operations to raise the production to meet the demand from the
infrastructure sector of the state.
4. Adoption of most efficient
competitive and environmentally responsible method of mining.
The founding of EPA in 1970 in the USA, had set a new road
for many nations of the world making them to take a relook at the large and
small activities and interventions in the ecosphere of the earth. In 1976, by
adding article 48A to the Indian constitution, the wildlife and forests which
remained in the state list were transferred to the concurrent list of the
constitution. However, mining and
quarrying for minor minerals remained with the state. Regulations and rules
framed subsequently by the MoEF governed and ensured the environmental safe
guards essential to opening up of a mine to extract major minerals and fuels.
Truly, Mining never was and has been an environment
friendly activity in any part of the world at any point of time in the past or
in the present. However, new insights,
knowledge, operational methods and modern technologies enabled modern mining to
co-exist with a healthy environment and supportive and happy community or
society.
In Kerala, though text book examples of reclamation and
reuse of quarry/mine pits exist, these are exceptions and not the rule. For
example, the IRE at Kollam has built a township in the backshore, over a parcel
of land reclaimed after dredging to recover the valuable black or heavy mineral
sand in the backshore.
Secondly at Thonnakkal, Thiruvananthapuram Dist., (on the
eastside of NH47 and Asan Memorial), M/s English India Clays Ltd., reclaimed
and landscaped their abandoned clay mine (roughly an area = ~15.0 ha) and sold
the same to M/s Tata Consultancy Services. Outside of these examples, the
reclamation of abandoned quarries and mines continues to be a far-cry.
In spite of the roughly 8000 rock rubble quarries (of which
roughly 3000 are abandoned) of variable sizes and depth, recovery or
reclamation of the land to the approximate original lay has not happened. This
abandon is detested by the society or community in and around the extraction
sites and shall not happen anymore now and in the future.
While issuing permit or license for mining or quarrying,
the authority shall mandate the operator to backfill, landscape and reclaim the
holes created by the extraction. Certainly, this shift in policy and mandating
to reclaim and restore the “holed” area back to the near original lay might
invite initially very strong objections from the industry. However, such
objections will die off with time.
Recommendation: All prospective quarrying/mining operations
are subject to a satisfactory clearance based on EIA and SIA stipulations
specifically drawn up by an expert
agency or group or institution. The list of expert agencies with latest contact
information shall be displayed in the web sites of the Department of
Environment and Climate Change,
State Biodiversity Board, State Pollution Control Board, The Directorate of
Mining and geology and KSCSTE.
The final assent or dismissal of request will be vested
with the High Power Environment Advisory Committee of the state. However, first
or second denial of request can be reviewed for a third time with revised documents
on EIA and SIA.
5. Committee can also look into research and development
and human resource development in this sector.
The Central Mining Research Institute, Dhanbad, a member
institute of CSIR family, is in charge of developing new technologies,
modifying existing technologies and practices in the mining sector of the
country. Mining and quarrying cause “high” levels of noise and dust pollution
due to drilling, blasting, bulldozers, tippers, and heavy trucks ferrying large
volumes of cargo, and neo-sediment laden water discharge outside of quarry
limits, and discharge of oil and grease
from the machinery and vehicles.
Recommendation: The State Pollution Control Board shall
continue the monitoring of noise and dust pollution from the various sources
and stipulate remedial or corrective measures by way of adoption of new technologies
or practices instead of existing systems.
In Kerala, the demand for Geoscientists is met combinedly by
at least half a dozen or so colleges plus university departments. But a huge
void exists in respect of professionals in areas of Mining Engineering or
Applied Geophysics. South of the latitude of Hyderabad, there is no place where
one aspirant could earn a degree in Mining Engineering. The Govt. School of
Mines, KGF, Karnataka offers a diploma course in Mining Engineering. The scene
is a bit better in respect of Applied Geophysics. Below the latitude of
Hyderabad, the CUSAT and MS University, Trunelveli are the two places offering
a PG course in Applied Geophysics. .
Recommendation: The Committee recommends starting a B.Tech.
course in Mining Engineering in the CET, Thiruvananthapuram and a diploma
course in Mining Engineering in the Central Polytechnic, Thiruvananthapuram.
Also recommended is M.Sc., course in Applied Geophysics, in the Calicut
University. The State Planning Board may recommend to the government to
allocate adequate funds from AY 2015-16.
6. Adoption of capital and energy saving practices and
zero-waste-mining technologies should be identified.
Capital and energy are closely linked. Capital input is
essential first step in energy production, whether it is mechanical or
electrical. The higher the capital outlay the more efficient is the energy
production. The general area of mining or quarrying is one that is highly energy
intensive and hence capital intensive. Better energy efficiency in the
operations would mean less energy consumption. The proper upkeep of mining
machinery (including bulldozers, tippers and trucks), pumps, air compressors
and electrical equipments and above all scientific and efficient lighting
systems would lead to efficient use of energy.
On the other hand, zero-waste-mining technologies are in
realm of reality. As long as value addition of the strip mining waste is
practiced, the bulk of the waste can be sharply reduced to the satisfaction of
all.
Recommendation: The quarry waste-->fine aggregate
technology is full of promise and the quarry permit issuing authority of the
state shall demand inclusion of this technology in the flowchart of operations
and at the stage of implementation.
7. Role of government,
PSUs and private indigenous and foreign industries should be identified.
The government may involve in mining and quarrying only
indirectly. Perhaps government role in this sector shall be one of regulator
and not the operator which can be achieved by
putting place appropriate acts and rules. The PSUs are already involved
in the core sectors of mining and downstream processing as exemplified by the
KMML, TTPL, Clay mining at Madayi and Kundara.
Attracting Indian private capital in this sector is subject
to many considerations. New investors will look for a host of concessions and
subsidies. The private capital will go to states where they can maximize their benefits.
Foreign tie ups in the mining sector or fully owned foreign
operations are perhaps a pipe dream primarily because of the limited mineral
wealth in Kerala.
Recommendation: The Committee could not scope a sector
suitable for the foreign private investment in the state.
8. Labour-industry
relation and socio-economic factors should be identified.
Currently Kerala labour market or bank is rife with
non-Keralite human resource and in the near future there will be no scarcity of
the same. In the quarry industry, large number work men (both semi-skilled and
trainable) are engaged in different phases of the operations.
Unlike in the early days of industry, or in the pre-90’s
instances of loss of working days due to labour scarcity or unrest is not wide
spread. The wages are perhaps decent and comparable to the other sectors of the
similar skills. The non-Keralite workers enjoy the work opportunities in the
state irrespective of the sector they are in and quarry/mining is no exception.
In fact the employability and opportunities in Kerala as well as the social
acceptance of the migrant workers perhaps are some of the reasons for the peace
and harmony in the work site as well as social life.
Recommendation: First and foremost of all an adhaar based
or connected registry of the work force need to be readied to enable the
welfare and well being of these workers and payment of wages, and health
benefits on time and with legitimacy and transparency.
9. Environmental
management, sustainable quarrying technology and sustainable resource should be
given due importance.
As a state, Kerala cannot lag behind the rest of India in
upgrading and expanding the infrastructure as well as their up keep at par with
the rest of India. In fact the basic inputs like Portland cement and steel can
be out sourced nationally or internationally. What is impossible or
non-remunerative is sourcing rock rubble and coarse and fine aggregates as well
as large block of rock from the neigbouring states. The environmentally
sensitive groups in the neighbouring states are more vocal and stronger
lobbyist than their peers in Kerala.
Therefore if the vision and mission of the administration
is to keep up with the rest of India in respect of the port and harbor
infrastructure, repairing or building new seawall, building and repairing of
the breakwaters of the fishing harbours from the south to north in coastal
Kerala, sustainable quarrying/mining of rock rubble of varying sizes and
weights will be indispensable. The state with roughly 1.62 lakh km long roads
of different classifications is bound to consume once in 3 to 5 yr, a several
km3 of rock material. Then our railways will call for the track upkeep a
similar volume of coarse aggregate. The only recourse before the state is
sourcing such material from within.
Recommendations:
a.The state shall implement through the various scientific
departments a sustainable quarrying/mining policy based on science and
technology and not the current “rat-hole” mining/quarrying. Any ban of
activities in this domain will only help the deterioration of the quality of
infrastructure in the state.
b.Therefore the state shall require the Geological Survey
of India to map on ascale of 1:25000 or better and asses the volume of quarriable basement rock in parts of Kerala
but outside the special zones like ESAs or delicate areas for meeting the
growing needs of rock rubble and aggregates in the near and mid-future.
c.The Government in future shall not allow any
quarrying/mining operation below a
“bench mark” prescribed based on
the floor elevation of a lower order stream draining the watershed in
which the proposed quarry or mine will be located. Besides if the EIA and SIA
clearance or permissions are earned for the operation or granted for the
operation the sustainability also shall be met.
d.The recommendations of the Committee on reuse of quarries and mine pits lying with the
government be resurrected and points or recommendations drawn up in that report
also be utilized in making the quarry/mine operations environment friendly.
e.The vigorous but scientific placer sand mining shall be
the declared policy of the state. There is a huge resource of black sand
sitting in the sea bed off the Chavara-Ambalapuzha sector in the offshore.
Offshore mining however is under the control of the National government. The
value and criticality of the offshore or placer mineral wealth to the nation is
unintelligible to the lay citizens. However, the government policy shall be
couched on the long term benefit to the society as well as the state and
nation.
10. Area of export
and import of minerals should be focused.
Import of minerals is sort of a policy in the horizon and
is not of immediate relevance as the highest profit is made and is possible if the
minerals are value added by refining and manufacturing closer to the site where
the mines/quarries are located. The pithead-thermal plants are a case in point,
so are the steel mills and zinc smelters now in operation in the country.
.
Recommendation: The export of monazite shall be banned as
it is one of those minerals coming under the source of critical materials. In
addition, thorium, (a component chemical element in the mineral monazite) has a
major role in the nuclear power production if an appropriate technology is
developed and commercialized.
In respect of aggregates and rock rubble of varying
dimensions, due to the comparatively low unit value, local sourcing is deemed
profitable by the business class or trader and user.
11.A full-scale
scientific assessment of the mineral and fuel resources a country is the
keystone of the foundation of economic growth, resource management and scientific utilization of the resources.
The UNFC-2009 is a generic scheme
wherein the resource quantities are classified based primarily on three
specific criteria viz., E, (economic and social viability), F (field project status and
feasibility) and G (Geological knowledge) and uses a
numerical code making it language free. This proposal or scheme is a valuable
infographic that addresses the economic viability, feasibility and geological
judgment. This scheme i.e., UNFC-2009,
substitutes a variety of assessment schemes that were in vogue globally so
far. The Geological Survey of India
adopted and practices this frame work of assessing the nation’s
mineral/ore/fuel wealth.
Recommendation: The
EFG based numerical designation takes into account economic and social aspects
in the E axis, while in the F axis is embedded the environmental questions. Therefore
knowledge of UNFC-2009 based numerical EFG classification of quarriable and
minable resources of the state, be reckoned along with EIA and SIA while
granting permission or otherwise for mining/quarrying of a resource.
(thrivikramji@gmail.com)
