The recent amendment to the Mining Acts to leverage the growth potential of the mining industry is having a rippling effect on the mining equipment sector. Sensing demand, the mining equipment players are introducing mining equipment in the market to cater to demand, which is likely to increase in the coming years
India has set an ambitious plan of transforming the infrastructure of the country. According to reports the government aims to invest 100 trillion rupees ($1.35 trillion) in infrastructure to boost the economic growth. In Union Budget 2021, the government has given a massive push to the infrastructure sector by allocating Rs. 233,083 crore (US$ 32.02 billion) to enhance the transport infrastructure. If India’s ambitious infrastructure vision has to be fulfilled, the mining sector has be strengthen. It is from the mines we get the basic raw materials for manufacturing cement and steel, the two most needed building materials for construction of the ambitious infrastructure planned for the country. Furthermore, the mining sector contributes 2.2 percent to 2.5 percent to the GDP of the country. India, it is said, has abundant of mines. According to reports, in 2019, the country was the 4th largest world producer of iron ore; 4th largest worldwide producer of chromium; 5th largest world producer of bauxite; 5th largest world producer of zinc; 7th largest producer of manganese in the world; 7th largest producer of lead in the world; 7th largest producer of sulfur in the world; 11th largest world producer of titanium; 18th largest world producer of phosphate; 16th largest world producer of gypsum; 5th largest world producer of graphite; 3rd largest world producer of salt.
Amendments leveraging growth
To further leverage the potential benefits of the mining sector, the government of India amended the MMDR Act, 1957. The amendment was made to Section 10A(2)(b) of MMDR Act, 1957, which pertains to leases where reconnaissance permits or prospecting licences were granted and Section 10A(2)(c) which relates to grant of mining leases to resolve legacy issues and allows reallocation of mines through auctions. To amend the MMDR Act, 1957, a bill ‘The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2021’ was introduced and passed in the parliament. The key highlights of the Amended law include empowering the central government to reserve any mine (other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals) to be leased through an auction for a particular end-use (such as iron ore mine for a steel plant); to conduct the auction of mineral concessions (other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals); upon expiry of a mining lease (other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals), mines are leased to new persons through auction; states a mining lease will lapse if the lessee: (i) is not able to start mining operations within two years of the grant of a lease, or (ii) has discontinued mining operations for a period of two years. However, the lease will not lapse at the end of this period if a concession is provided by the state government upon an application by the lessee. The threshold period for lapse of the lease may be extended by the state government only once and up to one year; these are a few of the key highlights of the amended MMDR Act.
The government felt the need to bring in more reforms in the mining sector. Last year, the parliament passed The Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020 for amendments in Mines & Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act 1957 and The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015. The Amended Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 gives the government the power to allow private companies to mine coal and sell it in the open market. The amended act also allowed 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) under automatic route in coal mining and associated infrastructure and auctioning of coal-bearing blocks to private parties for commercial mining.
The Pandemic and After
But Alas! Before the benefits could be reaped by all the stakeholders of mining sector. The pandemic struck. Like all other sectors, the mining sector too was badly affected by the Pandemic. As per the The Economic Survey 2020-21 released January 29, 2021, India’s coal production in 2020-21 declined as compared to the previous year due to the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. The production of coal in 2020-21, stood at 337.52 million tonnes (MT), a 3.3 per cent decline from the production levels in 2019-20. The survey attributed the contraction to Covid-19.
The Pandemic is slowly waning. The Covid-19 positive cases have come down considerably. The mining sector is slowing returning back to normalcy. As per the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data by the National Statistical Office (NSO), August 2021, the mining sector reported 23.6% growth compare to same month last year.
Piloting the growth – The Mining equipment
The favourable government policy and regulations; and the growth exhibited by the mining sector evinced keen interested from the mining equipment players. Sensing an increase demand for mining equipment, the mining equipment players have lined up an array of products to cater to the mining sector. JCB India has flagged off its new range of CEV Stage IV backhoe loaders. The range includes the new 3DX Plus, the 3DX Xtra, the 3DX Super & the 4DX to meet a wide range of applications for customers. The new Backhoe Loader range is powered by the well-established and reputed 55kW JCB ecoMax diesel engine. This CEV Stage IV engine is environment-friendly and comes with well-proven CRDI technology, a Waste-Gate Turbocharger & a Two-Stage cooling EGR system. A unique feature of this engine is that it has a state-of-the-art combustion system that eliminates the need for any After-treatment, DOC (Diesel Oxidation Catalyst) or a DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter). This engine also has no deration at higher altitudes thus greatly benefiting customers and users in mountainous terrain. The 3DX Plus CEV Stage IV machine is 7% more fuel-efficient in Eco mode and has 25% higher productivity in Plus mode as compared to the outgoing model. It has features such as Auto Idle and Auto stop to help reduce fuel wastage and improve efficiency. Additionally, a high torque of 400 Nm and three Excavation Modes for different site conditions - Eco, Standard and Plus enhance the machine’s adaptability to meet output needs. The Hydraulic oil change period is now extended from 2,000 hrs to 4,000 hrs and Hydraulic oil quantity reduced by 20 litres. This results in a 15% lesser cost of periodic maintenance, significantly improving the Total Cost of ownership. Additionally, a New Digital display with a Trip meter, an SOS switch, Guide me home lights improve the ease of operation and Safety of the Operator. The ‘Intellidiagnostic’ system for Service Engineers helps in faster machine diagnostics and ensures higher productivity.
Mahindra Construction Equipment, part of the Mahindra Group, has launched the new BS IV-compliant Motor Grader - Mahindra RoadMaster G9075 & G9595 and Backhoe Loader – and Mahindra EarthMaster SX, and VX. The newly launched construction equipment adheres to its commitment to lowest cost of maintenance and comes with a robust iMAXX telematics solution providing customers with diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive fleet management along with many other category-leading features. The extract from the press release by the company states, powered with a 74 HP CRi Mahindra Engine, the BSIV range of EarthMaster Range of Backhoe Loaders now has 13% higher torque compared to BSIII leading to improved machine’s loader efficiency. Loaded with features such as Banana Boom, joystick lever, robust design, and bigger buckets, EarthMaster range is well suited for all types of backhoe applications be it mining, trenching, crushers, building construction or any other work in the construction industry. It would be available in two variants – SX & VX which would be accompanied with resale value guarantee. The SX Smart50 launched by Mahindra Construction Equipment is created with Mahindra 50HP Ditech BSIII engine and optimized hydraulics to provide equivalent Backhoe productivity as 74HP. SX Smart50 compliments the requirement of price sensitive customers in a highly competitive low margin segment. New EarthMaster Range comes with ergonomically designed keeping operator comfort at the forefront. With tinted glass, coat hanger, mobile and water bottle holder among others, an improved feature packed cabin makes it comfortable and safe to our operators.
Hyundai Construction Equipment has launched upgraded series of excavators ranging from 8 tonnes to 50 tonnes. The excavators are available with special attachments like rock breaker, clamshell bucket and quick coupler.
Sany India has upgraded & launched four new truck cranes: STC250C, STC450C, STC600C, and STC800C adhering to the Bharat CEV Stage IV norms. Equipped with the multimode power output function, Sany’s STC 250C consumes less power and the use of tipping over early-warning technology provides stability and safety during operation. Its maximum load-lifting capacity is 25 ton at working radius of 3mts, this model has maximum boom length of 33.5mts.
Tata Hitachi has launched TL340H Prime, its new CEV-4 (BS4) compliant wheel loader. This wheel loader helps in reducing fuel consumption by as much as 20%. It comes equipped with Hydrostatic technology, that uses hydraulic flow for forward and reverse movements. TL340H Prime comes with an ergonomically designed operator’s cabin which is equipped with a new multicoloured digital cluster that displays a host of machine information. TL340H Prime is equipped with Tata Hitachi’s telematics system, InSite, that provides Live data on machine location, HMR, fuel level and machine utilization.
Technology makes the difference
Mining activities take place in remotest locations of the country. Communication between the operators and other stakeholders of mining equipment is a vital link to better utilised the mining equipment. Nowadays telematics is a common feature of mining equipment. JCB India’s telematics technology LiveLink is an advanced Telematics technology for Next Generation Asset Monitoring and Feet Management. It is aimed towards increasing productivity, controlling costs and asset safety. Through real-time data, available on smart devices, customers can access information on critical parameters of their fleet such as fuel, maintenance and service, thus improving equipment uptime. LiveLink gives service reminders, critical health alerts and keeps machine data back-up. It further helps in improving operations through fuel level information and engine status. LiveLink also enables a new and smart, digitally enabled product support for JCB customers. The Smart Serve Mobile Application locates the nearest service engineer to the machine and through the Parts Application customers can buy parts online. To date, approximately 1,80,000 LiveLink enabled JCB machines have been sold. They can be geo-fenced, time-fenced and can be located through GPS.
CASE Construction Equipment has launched the next generation of its SiteWatch telematics platform with an all-new dashboard, more intuitive navigation and new overview sections that spotlight critical information without requiring the user to search extensively for the data. The new dashboard features an easy-to-read horizontal menu at the top of the screen above five widgets that focus on core operating information such as an equipment summary, equipment search, fuel level reports and alarm status. An easy dropdown menu makes critical reports on factors such as equipment utilization, fuel consumption and maintenance just a click away, and topline menu buttons take users immediately to fleet and maintenance overviews. Additional reports highlighting specific alerts and fault codes are also available. SiteWatch telematics help fleets of all sizes work more efficiently in many ways, including simplified fleet management, understanding equipment utilization, analyzing workload and productivity, real-time alerts, improved billing and estimating, prevent unauthorized use, equipment security and others.
Growth on the horizon
The mining sector is no longer a monopoly. With the entry of private players things have hot up. The government by amending the Mines & Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act 1957 and The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 has shown its seriousness in reforming the mining sector. India being rich in mineral resources it holds a rewarding potential for the miners. With the Covid-19 positive cases declining and vaccinations on a war footing, the country in on a revival phase.
Mining equipment launches are nowadays quite often and with the amount of hard work put in by the government to bring in private miners and keeping the interest of state-owned miners intact, the future holds promising for the mining equipment manufacturers.
