Minerals are on an expansion spree! Read to know how this is driving demand for mining equipment

01 Nov 2018 CW Staff

Primarily owing to mine supply closures and discretionary shut-ins in several countries, in the near future, Animesh Nandy, Business Line Manager, Drilling Solutions, Epiroc Mining India, expects zinc and lead to experience the largest gains of 27 per cent and 18 per cent respectively. (Some miners like Hindustan Zinc and Vedanta Resources are growing at a CAGR of 20 per cent plus for the past few years, purely being among the best cost producers of zinc and silver globally, notes Subhasis Das, Vice President, Sales Area-India, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology. (We see some movement in the iron sector currently, with this sector crossing the 200 mt mark after many years, but there are impending challenges for many miners in Odisha, where mine leases are due for renewal soon, and that is hindering capital investment, Das adds. (In comparison, Coal India has so far showed almost no growth, despite having a plan of achieving 1 billion tonne by 2020, owing to several external and internal issues. Still, (Coal India¦s expanded production targets and the introduction of mine developer and operators to develop mining projects on a fast track present a large growth opportunity for mining equipment, says Samaresh Mitra, National Sales Head, OE, Joy Global India, Komatsu Mining Corp Group. (Opening coal mining to commercial miners may also boost equipment demand, especially if the blocks offered have substantially high reserves as global players focus on economies of scale with large mechanisation. (Coal India's plans to procure mining equipment worth $2 billion over the next three years bodes well for reputed heavy earthmoving machinery manufacturers, especially if the demand spans replacement machines as well as additions to existing fleets and proven brands are prioritised over non-serious manufacturers, notes Nandy. (Coal India and Singareni Colleries are the major demand drivers in the heavy earthmoving equipment segment while in iron ore, the drivers are NMDC and Tata Steel.