National Miner NMDC signed an Agreement for Collaborative Research with CSIR-IMMT, Bhubaneswar on “Feasibility Studies for Preparation of Fused Magnesia from Kimberlite Tailings” today at its Head Office in Hyderabad. The Agreement was signed between Shri S.K. Chaurasiya, GM, R&D from NMDC and Dr. Ashok Kumar Sahu, Chief Scientist and Head, Strategy Planning & Business Development, from CSIR-IMMT in the presence of NMDC’s Director (Production) Shri Dilip Kumar Mohanty, senior officials of NMDC, the project leaders Dr. Kali Sanjay, Chief Scientist and Head, Hydro & Electrometallurgy Department, CSIR-IMMT and Dr C Kesava Rao, DGM, Hydrometallurgy, NMDC.
NMDC operates the only mechanized diamond mine in Southeast Asia at Panna in Madhya Pradesh. This mine produces around 10 carats of diamond (2g) per 100 tonnes of Kimberlite processed, which is dumped as waste after recovery of diamonds. Kimberlite tailings are used for development of value-added products and are also known to be a good source of caustic magnesia. Addressing this research gap for the best utilization of Kimberlite that is available and accumulated over the years at Panna Diamond Mines, NMDC has initiated the Research Agreement to study the processing and preparation of fused MgO and TiO2.
Speaking on this project, Shri Sumit Deb, CMD, NMDC said, “NMDC is tapping on the opportunity to utilize Kimberlite tailings from our Panna Mines as a resource to produce high cost fused magnesia. We are confident that our endeavor will lead to convert waste to wealth and import substitution proving to be a significant step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat.”