A well over 120 Start Ups and 20 major industries will participate at the maiden mining StartUps Summit being jointly organised on May 29 in Mumbai by the Ministry of Mines and IIT, Bombay. Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi will inaugurate the summit while the Minister of State for Mines Raosaheb Danve will chair the concluding session.
The Summit will focus on innovation and techniques that will support and improve the performance, safety and help in building autonomy in the field of mining and metallurgy.
With the country having the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world there is scope for involving start-ups in addressing challenges in the mining sector, to simplify the process for the mining industry by leveraging new technologies in exploration and mining and enhancing mining and mineral production of the country. A state of art exhibition, showcasing the advancement of technology in the mining sector, technical session and panel discussion with industries and academia, presentations by start-ups, and a brainstorming session are some of the key highlights of the summit.
During the summit, the Ministry of Mines will interact with the start-ups in the field of Mining and Metallurgy and how these start-ups equipped with different technology can contribute to the activities of the mining sector and boost the capabilities of exploration and mining and enhance the efficiency of the mining sector.
The summit will also focus on interaction with leading industries in the mineral exploration sector, financial institutions and banks. Students and young professionals working in the fields of exploration, virtual reality, automation, drone technology, consultancy will also be benefited from the event. As of FY22, the number of reporting mines in India were estimated at 1,245, of which reporting mines for metallic minerals were estimated at 525 and non-metallic minerals at 720. Globally, India is the 4th largest in iron ore production and 5th in bauxite.
The summit is important when there are a lot of business opportunities for startups in the domestic mining sector where production worth around $7 billion happens annually. According to Mines Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj, the sector faces several technological challenges, and the startups can explore these issues as a business opportunity for them.
Ernst and Young (E&Y) in its report published in April observed that the mining industry is constantly required to embrace novel digital solutions that can revolutionize the value chain and enhance the production process in a holistic manner, resulting in both tangible and intangible business advantages. The adoption of such technologies may surge in the forthcoming years as the industry prioritizes reducing emissions to attain carbon neutrality.
‘’There are several tangible benefits that may be realized by increasing adoption of emerging technologies in the mining sector. They include improving human efficiency and develop extensive real-time performance systems in the overall supply chain of the industry, Digital manufacturing based on artificial intelligence involving predictive and preventive analytics, Effective sourcing of input raw materials, Optimising consumption through right material blends, Maximising throughput and capacity utilisation and Maintaining consistent quality,’’ it said.
Bharadwaj while commenting on the scope for start ups in the mining sector said the players face various technological challenges. During rains and fog, carrying out mining becomes an issue. Challenges are faced in communicating with workers in underground mines. Startups can develop technologies to overcome such issues. They can also develop techniques to extract nickel from chromite, which is a challenge.
