National Mineral Policy 2006 - Department of Mines

necessary, therefore, that in infrastructure projects in areas where SME sector mining issignificant the requirements of the miners are factored into the design of the projects.Stronger infrastructure is needed to withstand the load imposed on public utilities by themines in the area. It may be mentioned here that when mining majors build infrastructurespecially suited to the needs of carrying minerals, viz. rail tracks and roadways of muchhigher carrying capacity, the unit cost of transportation decreases with higher volumes.Transportation by railways in Brazil, where mining majors are active, costs US$ 3–4 pertonne while the cost in India is Rs 800 per tonne (about US$ 18 per tonne). In roadways too,while Indian roads can at best accommodate dumpers of 40–50 tonne capacities, the roads inBrazil and Australia are designed for dumpers of upto 200 tonnes.4.9 The critical infrastructure needs of the mining sector in the country may be seen in theshort term as well as in the long term. In the short term, these are the specific needs, such aspower, roads, railways, ports, etc., highlighted by problems being currently faced by themining industry, which is driven by the SME sector. In the long term, looking at the hugemining potential of the country as one of the few untapped resource countries of the worldand the low level of mining activity currently underway, the focus has to be on setting upinstitutional arrangements for facilitating infrastructure development, which will act as anincentive to the growth of the sector by attracting large stand alone mines that will mineefficiently, optimally, and on a sustainable basis. These arrangements need to be devised insuch a way that the absence of infrastructure is seen not as a bottleneck to be overcome but asan opportunity for investment by the mining community by itself.4.10 Short-term infrastructure needs with some suggestions were highlighted by industry inthe presentations before the Committee. These mainly concern the movement of iron ore anddimension stone from mine sites to ports. This is only to be expected because significant noncaptivemining activity as a whole in India is mainly in respect of these minerals and islargely confined to SMEs. The road and rail systems servicing the SME sector areoverburdened and struggle to cope with the increasing tonnages being transported, resultingin freight increases and supply disruptions, in turn resulting in higher delivery costs. Theimmediate critical requirements for the movement of iron ore and stone (granite and marble)have been identified and are detailed below.100