BEC to invest Rs 155 cr in rock phosphate plant

BEC Impex International Pvt Ltd, an arm of the Bhilai Engineering Corporation Ltd (BEC), has said it will invest Rs 155 crore in the Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh to set up rock phosphate beneficiation plants.

The company has sought a prospecting licence from the Madhya Pradesh mining department.

The company has proposed to set up the plants in Meghnagar and Hirapur, with capacities of 1,000 tonnes per day and 500 tonnes per day, respectively. However, the Madhya Pradesh government has not given a clear signal to the company in this regard.

The company has proposed to invest Rs 24.50 crore in mining activities in the Meghnagar (Jhabua) area and Rs 16 crore in the Hirapur (Sagar) area. The Meghnagar plant will have an investment of Rs 68.5 crore and the Hirapur plant will have Rs 45.2 crore. The state has low-grade rock phosphate deposits in the Jhabua and the Sagar districts. The rock phosphate is lying unused.

"We are exploring the viability of utilising these rock phosphate deposits for industrial use. For this, we have engaged the Indian Bureau of Mines, Nagpur, for a feasibility study," the company in its application for the licence said.

In April, the company has also applied for identifying pockets of rock phosphate deposits for mining in the Hirapur (Sagar) district and Khatamba, South block (Jhabua district).

The company has set up a mining division so that it can enter into areas like coal, iron ore, limestone, quartz, lignite and other minerals. "We have been simultaneously exploring the possibilities of using this beneficiated rock phosphate for manufacturing phosphoric chemicals as down stream product," the company in a statement said.

Meanwhile, a government spokesperson said the State Mining Development Corporation would consider the company's proposal only after expanding its capacity in rock phosphate mining.

A number of importers excavate rock phosphate in the Sagar and Meghnagar areas to supply it as a raw material for coffee and tea fertiliser manufacturers. However, neither the mining corporation nor the department of industries has conducted a study about utilising the mineral lying in abundance in these districts.

According to the mining department, the production of rock phosphate has increased from 9,546 tonnes in February 2005 to 15,500 tonnes in February this year, thereby registering a growth rate of 126.61 per cent in production. Madhya Pradesh excavates 12.54 per cent of India's rock phosphate production.