Tata Steel has flagged off the preparatory work of underground mining project at its Sukhinda Chromite Mine (SCM), which has an annual chromite ore beneficiation facility of 6.5 lakh tonnes.
"Mining at SCM is fully-mechanised at present. The roadmap ahead is to operate underground mines. This will go a long way in conserving natural resources and, thereby, contribute to sustainable mining in the country," Tata Steel Managing Director H M Nerurkar was quoted in a company statement.
It added that Nerurkar flagged off the prepartory work during his visit to the mine yesterday, which coincided with the celebration of 50 years of mining at Sukinda.
According to the statement, trackless mine technology and complete underground mechanisation will be part of the technology backbone of the project and underground methods with 100 per cent backfilling of voids with paste will be adopted.
"Paste filling technology is the latest development in mine backfill technology which ensures ultimate compaction of voids underground, quick settling time and optimises ore extraction. This goes a long way in mineral conservation," it said.
At present, the Sukhinda mine is the only Indian producer of hexavalent chrome-free chrome concentrate, made through a patented herbal treatment process that adds green credits to the organisation's environmental initiatives, the statement added.
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