NEW DELHI, 25 JAN: Trimex group, a Dubai-headquartered industrial minerals company, today said it would set up a titanium plant in Andhra Pradesh by 2014 entailing an investment of about Rs 2,250 crore. “We plan to set up a titanium pigment plant at Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh with a production capacity of 44,000 tons per annum in the next three years,” executive director and CEO of the group subsidiary Trimex Sands, Mr Pradeep Koneru said.
Trimex Sands, a part of the Trimex group which has presence across India, UAE, Dubai and a leading international conglomerate with a focus on heavy minerals, has signed an MoU with the Indonesian government to set up a world-class integrated titanium project worth $850 million. Leveraging heavy mineral resources in Indonesia,
India is all set to become self-sufficient in meeting demand for precious metal, Titanium, which is widely used in paint and pigment industry over next three years.
UAE-based heavy mineral company Trimex group is ramping up its ilmenite mining and processing unit at Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh with an investment of $480- $500 million. Once this is through, it will not only cater to local demand but also have surpluses for exports.
“Mining of titanium ores, available in abundance across Andhra Pradesh would comprise first phase of the plant and its infrastructure investments. Next phase will be processing plant that will process ores for pigments and manufacture titanium alloys to meet industrial needs,” said Pradeep Koneru, executive director and CEO of Trimex Sands.
India requires about 150,000 tonne of titanium pigment, but the country produces just about 50,000 tonnes and relies on imports for meeting the full demand. The company already has mining operations in Andhra Pradesh, and mines beach sand to extract 200,000 tonne of six different heavy minerals annually.
Titanium di-oxide pigments are also used for applications by the paint, pharma and plastic industry. Titanium instruments are also used for oil drilling, exploration, construction and aviation sectors.
The company’s existing heavy mineral mining and mineral separation project facilities extend across 7.2 square kilometre across Srikakulam coastline. It is looking to achieve further mineral extraction rights in the adjacent Kalingapatnam-Bhavanapadu mineral deposits area, the company said.
In addition to its India facilities, the company is now looking to set up an integrated Titanium processing complex in Indonesia with an investment cost of $ 850 million over next 10 years.
“The complex will help meet 46,000 tonnes of Indonesia’s 50,000 tonne demanded by our industries, and we welcome it,” MS Hidayat, Indonesia’s industries minister said while signing an MoU between his government and the company. Trimex Group Chairman Prasad Koneru said that with no mining rights yet allowed to them in Indonesia, the project would look to source raw material from its mining leases in Andhra Pradesh. Already, the company exports a significant amount of the 200,000 tonne ilmenite that it mines from here.
The Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) has floated a global invitation for expression of interest (EoI) for entering into agreement with it for operating heavy mineral beach sand mines (HMBS), mineral separation plants and value-added industries under the public private partnership (PPP) mode and the response has been very encouraging. There have been seventeen offers for Visakhapatnam district alone, according to sources.
The APMDC seeks to take up exploration of HMBS mines in Visakhapatnam, Krishna, East and West Godavari districts in a big way. It is planned to extract commercially viable minerals from the sand including garnet, zircon, sillimanite and traces of monazite. Monazite is a radioactive material due to presence of thorium and uranium minerals. APMDC sources say that it does not pose any threat to the environment as it is within permissible limits.
Still, there is stiff opposition to the proposal from environmentalists and green groups.
The corporation plans to set up mineral separation plants in the following mandals, which have been formed as separate mining zones: Krishna (Kodur, Machilipatnam, Bantumilli andNagayalanka) 31,800 hectares, West Godavari (Mogalthuru and Narsapur) 4,375 hectares, East Godavari-I (Tallarevu, I. Polavaram, Katrenikona, Uppulaguptham, Allavaram, Mamidikuduru, Malkipuram) 11,563 hectares, East Godavari-II (Tuni, Kothapalem andKakinada) 6,250 hectares and Visakhapatnam (Payakaraopeta, Nakkapali and Yelamanchili) 13,750 hectares.
Hyderabad: Trimex Sands Pvt. Ltd, part of Chennai-based mining firm Trimex Group, has planned investments of Rs4,000 crore for the next eight years to expand its operations.
“The immediate plan is to invest some Rs1,200 crore to set up another mineral separation facility at Bhavanapadu, close to the existing facility at Srikurmam (in Andhra Pradesh),” group chairman Rajendra Prasad Koneru told reporters on Friday. Trimex Sands is set to begin commercial operations of another facility separating heavy minerals from beach sands, involving an investment of Rs250 crore, he added. Prasad said the company will eventually produce titanium metal and other value-added mineral products used in high-tech applications. Trimex group has three mining licences covering 40 sq.km. of beach sand on India’s east coast, some 15km from Srikakulam, comprising proven reserves of some 18 million tonnes of ilmenite, an ore of titanium.
“We have started exporting minerals worth Rs18 crore a month on an average and expect some Rs200 crore of revenue with net profit margin of some 30% during the first year of operations,” said executive director Pradeep Koneru.
Industrial minerals producer and trader Trimex Group on Friday announced that it had commenced production at its Rs 250-crore Srikurmam Mineral Sands project in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, after almost nine years of project implementation.
The fully-integrated, multi-mineral facility, the first of its kind in India, involves utilising beach sand to extract a variety of minerals such as ilmenite, rutile and zircon.
The company will invest another Rs 1,500 crore in the next three years for the second phase of the plant involving value-addition to some of the minerals and production of titanium dioxide pigment used by the paint industry — currently the country imports 90 per cent of its requirement.
In the subsequent two phases, Trimex will pump in another Rs 2,500 crore to ultimately produce titanium metal, chloride pigment and other premium value-added products.
“The facility will produce two lakh tonnes of ilmenite, 6,000 TPA of rutile and zircon each, 60,000 TPA of garnet and 50,000 TPA of sillimanite. The entire production is for the export market, as we want to build up our brand globally for expansion,” Mr Prasad Koneru, Chairman of Trimex Group, told presspersons here.
These products are used in a wide spectrum of industries such as paints, ceramics, abrasives, insulation, cosmetics, paper, leather, glass, aircraft components and artificial gems.
The company is in the process of getting mining leases for two other neighbouring deposits of beach sands, totalling 48 sq km with combined exploitable ilmenite reserves of 18 million tonnes. Although India is known to have the world’s third largest ilmenite deposits, it accounts for merely 6 per cent of global production, the major domestic player in this segment being Indian Rare Earths.
Mr Koneru said the second phase expansion in the second deposit at Bhavanapadu will commence by the year-end and take about 30 months for completion. The second phase expansion will see the company producing an additional three lakh tonnes of ilmenite and 35,000 tonnes of titanium pigment, a value-added product.
“We will raise the money partly from our internal surplus, borrowings and equity participation by our customers. It will have a debt-equity ratio of 70:30,” he said.
In the third and fourth phases that will be implemented up to 2017-18, the company will invest another Rs 2,500 crore. “Sometime during these phases, we will enter the capital market to raise funds. At the end of these phases, we will produce titanium metal, a premium commodity used in the aviation and defence sectors,” Mr Pradeep Koneru, Executive Director
- Trimex Group to invest 800-850 million USD towards setting up the project in three phases
- Project to boost economic sustainability in the region and create 6,500 jobs
- Project to reduce Indonesia’s dependency on imports for titanium dioxide pigment
New Delhi, January 25, 2011: Trimex Sands, a part of the Trimex Group, a leading international conglomerate with a focus on heavy minerals, announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Republic of Indonesia, in New Delhi, India today.
As per the details of the MoU, Trimex Sands will set up a world-class integrated titanium complex, leveraging heavy mineral resources in Indonesia. The project’s site will be determined in accordance with the location of titanium resources in the country, and will enable the authorities to advance lesser-developed regions of Indonesia. The estimated cost for the Integrated Titanium Complex is 800-850 million USD, which will be invested in three phases, over the next 10 years.
The project will consist of mining and mineral separation, value addition of ilmenite to titanium slag, TiO2 pigment and Ti Metal production of other associated viable minerals from the resource area. The manufactured products will primarily be used for commercial sales and domestic consumption.
His Excellency Mr. M. S. Hidayat, Minister of Industry, Republic of Indonesia, said, “This Memorandum of Understanding with Trimex Sands is a result of mutual commitment to develop and implement the utilization of the natural resources in the region and promote industrialization, in order to bring prosperity and well-being to the people. Indonesia has large ilmenite resources, about 40 million tons, despite which the country annually imports about 46,000 tons of TiO2 pigment. The proposed integrated TiO2 project will ensure regular and committed supply of pigment to end users at a cost effective price. This will also reduce our dependence on imported pigment.”
“We welcome Trimex Sands new investment to Indonesia and are determined to provide all required support to the group. They have shown commitment as an investor in executing similar large-scale projects in different parts of the world. We are confident that their expertise and experience in this sector will help in utilizing the available natural resources in the country and create new industrial opportunities. We firmly believe that the proposed Integrated Titanium Complex will change the landscape of the heavy mineral industry in Indonesia. Mr. Hidayat further added.
The company expects the first phase of the project to start by Sept 2011 and end by Dec 2013. The first phase will see an investment of 150-200 million USD in the production of titanium-di-oxide (TiO2) pigment which is largely used in developing industries like paint, ceramics, paper and plastics. The project is expected to create close to 1,000 new jobs during this phase.
The second phase of development will include production of titanium slag. In the third phase, Trimex would concentrate on production of titanium metal and enhancing the TiO2 pigment plant capacity. The second and the third phase of the project would entail investments of close to 350 million USD and 300-350 million USD, respectively. The entire project is expected to be completed in 8 to 10 years.
Mr Prasad Koneru, Chairman of Trimex Group, said “The Indonesian economy is witnessing favorable economic growth and is expected to grow at 6-6.5 percent per annum. The integrated titanium complex will expand Trimex’s reach in the global market and widen our product mix as we enter into value addition of co-minerals. The project would also help Indonesia meet the domestic demands for pigments and will provide new job opportunities for local people, thereby boosting the socio-economic condition of the region.”
Mr. Pradeep Koneru, Executive Director & CEO of Trimex Sands, said “Our experience in Indonesia for past eight years has been very rewarding. The proposed integrated TiO2 project is a very important project for Trimex Group as we aim to become the largest player in titanium feed stock industries and establish ourselves as a fully integrated titanium producer in the Asia. This MoU marks the beginning of Trimex Sands’ long-term strategic relationship with the government and the people of Indonesia.”
Regarding the project and the mineral separation capacity, Mr. Pradeep Koneru further added that “Trimex Sands will look for titanium and zircon-rich deposits and high-grade titanium feed stock deposits. There are large untapped resources in Indonesia and we are upbeat about the project tapping into these resources. The production capacity of the plant will depend on variable factors like raw materials, infrastructure for power, water, as well as road and rail links.”
According to Mr. Koneru, the project is expected to create direct employment for close to 2,000 people and indirect employment for nearly 4,500 people.
Trimex has been operating in Indonesia for over eight years, including a kaolin plant in Bangka Belitung and a large greenfield coalmine in East Kalimantan. The Group has a keen understanding of the Indonesian marketand has been committed to improve the quality of life and ensure sustainable practices through the implementation of long-term programs in Indonesia. To that end, the company has undertaken various holistic development programs for the residents of 15 villages in East Kutai in East Kalimantan.
About Trimex Group
Trimex Group has recently completed 25 years in the heavy mineral industry fulfilling the demand-supply gap for quality industrial minerals to the oil drilling industry. India’s top specialty value chain provider for industrial minerals, the Trimex Group is a minerals business house with interests in extraction, sourcing, procurement, delivery, and R&D. Trimex delivers products such as barite, bentonite, iron ore, feldspar, bauxite, ilmenite, ball clay and kaolin, among others, to the world’s leading oil drilling, ceramic, glass, construction, energy, steel and fertilizer companies.
Founded in 1985 by Prasad Koneru, a veteran of the Indian minerals industry, Trimex’s global delivery network includes offices in India, Indonesia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. Production operations are conducted from multiple locations in the CIS, Africa and West Asia.
The Trimex Group, which has interests in various sectors including minerals and logistics, is planning to set up an integrated, multi-mineral facility on the east coast.
The group is working on a plan to extract minerals from beach sand and build abilities to produce titanium at a later stage by 2017. Being taken up with an outlay of Rs 4,000 crore, Trimex is taking up the project in four phases and the first phase has already commenced production, though at lower levels.
The Andhra Pradesh government has granted approval to the group’s proposal to harvest minerals from the beach sand deposits near Srikurmam, Bhavanapadu and Kalingapatnam coast.
“We are starting with five minerals from the sand taken from the beach deposits. All the minerals have demand in the export market and we are trying to build market for some of the minerals even in the domestic market,” Trimex chairman Prasad R Koneru said.
The first phase set up with about Rs 250 crore produces 2,00,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) of ilmenite, 6,000 TPA of rutile, 6,000 TPA of zircon, 60,000 TPA of garnet and 50,000 TPA of silimanite. The products are used in the manufacture of paints, ceramics, abrasives, insulation, cosmetics, paper, leather, glass products, artificial gems, aircraft parts, artificial human joints and filtration media.
“The second phase will have facilities to produce titanium dioxide pigments. They find application in paints and allied segments. Apart from that, we are also working on some of the value added products. The second phase would involve an investment of about Rs 1,200-1,500 crore,” he said.
In the second phase, the company would expand the capacities for producing the existing minerals while taking up works to produce sillimanite flour, sintered sillimanite grains and other minerals in the fourth phase. The beach sand project involves a process of mining sand from the beach beyond 100 meters of the high tide and then purifying it by using multiple levels of water treatment.
After extracting the minerals, depending on their content in the sand, the leftover sand is pumped back into the beach to refill the pits. “The total investment over the next 10 years would be around Rs 4,000 crore and we are looking at a debt-equity of 70:30,” he said.
Trimex group, a Dubai-headquartered industrial minerals company, will invest Rs 1,200 crore in the next 24 to 30 months in Andhra Pradesh as part of its Rs 4,000-crore expansion planned for the next eight years. The amount will be spent on a new facility for separating minerals from beach sand, to be located at its 14.5 sq km mine at Bhavanapadu in Srikakulam district. Trimex group chairman Prasad Koneru said here on Friday that the group’s first integrated mineral extraction facility, the Srikurmam Mineral Sands Project at Srikurmam in the same district, is to be inaugurated by chief minister K Rosaiah on June 26.
The Rs 250-crore plant will extract, process and produce 200,000 tonne per annum (tpa) of ilmenite, 6,000 tpa of rutile and zircon, 60,000 tpa of garnet and 50,000 tpa of sillimanite. The company also holds a mining licence at Kalingapatnam, part of the same geological Srikakulam placer deposits. The fully-functional Srikurmam plant will draw sand from the group’s 7.2-sq km mine spread along the coastline, for which the company has a 30-year lease extending till 2027.
Trimex group executive director Pradeep Koneru said half of the licenced area was privately owned, for which it would compensate on the basis of crops forgone by the farmers. For the government land, it is required to pay 2.5 per cent of its sales revenue as royalty, he told Business Standard. He said the company’s operations do not require outright ownership of the land. It would use it only for about six months to one year, after which the land will be returned to the owner with the sand pumped back. The net quantity of sand taken would be 10 to 15 per cent, he said.
The group looks to value addition in the next phase of its operations with Titanium dioxide extraction planned for the next two-three years. It is currently exporting 100 per cent of its production, and feels the need for establishing product quality among its international customers before taking up value addition. These minerals are used in refractive devices (sillimanite), paper, plastic and paints (titanium dioxide), apart from glass products, artificial gems, aircraft parts, and artificial human joints.
The group’s sales are entirely in open markets, Prasad Koneru said, adding that there was no canvassing with clients. Its revenues were in the range of Rs 15-18 crore per month over the last three months, and its topline this year is expected to be around Rs 200 crore at 65 per cent capacity utilisation. Its debt-equity ratio was 35-65. The group has assets in Congo, the UAE, Kuwait, Indonesia and CIS countries.
TRIMEX Industries (TRIMEX) today announced that it will commence ilmenite mining operations in the next two months in the Srikurmam district, spanning an area 7.2 sq km of land area. Srikurmam district lies in the northeast of Andhra Pradesh. TRIMEX is the first Indian company to obtain a mining lease from the State Government of Andhra Pradesh. Since 2005, TRIMEX has focused on obtaining necessary environmental clearances. The area has proven reserves of 5.5 million tonnes of ilmenite. About 50 per cent of the land area specified in the mining lease is owned by the government. TRIMEX will be executing mining operations and related projects through its wholly owned subsidiary, TRIMEX Sands Pvt. Ltd. (numbers are reported in accordance to the Australian Joint Ore Reserves Committee). The current capital expenditure stands at 250 crores and is expected to climb to 2,250 crores in five years. TRIMEX will hold the mining lease for a period of 30 years from the date of the lease award (in 2001) and is renewable for another 30 years. Ilmenite is used to produce titanium dioxide, a vital ingredient in creating white pigments in high-quality paints, paper and plastics. Ilmenite is also used as an intermediate feedstock in the manufacturing of titanium metals. Pradeep Koneru, Executive Director of TRIMEX said, “This lease is a key development and a stepping stone for us. It gives TRIMEX the potential to emerge as one of the leading global producers of ilmenite by building upon our extensive resource base and existing competitive cost structure in India. With this lease and associated investment, we are one of the largest ilmenite producers in India. “Through this secure supply of ilmenite, TRIMEX will be one of the lowest-cost titanium dioxide manufacturers globally, by value adding and integrating our operations throughout the supply chain. To this end, we are working to ensure that prices remain competitive to benefit the end-user.” The value addition study is being conducted by TZMI, an independent consulting firm specialising in the mineral sands and titanium dioxide pigment industries. The company’s site facility has a capacity to produce 200,000 tonnes of ilmenite per annum and is expected to produce 65 per cent of that capacity in the first year of operations. Also, the facility will have an annual capacity to produce 80,000 tonnes of garnet, 80,000 tonnes of sillimenite, 6,000 tonnes of rutile and 6,000 tonnes of zircon; all of which are associated minerals in the area. The facility’s engineering procurement and construction will be executed by Walchandnagar Industries, whose technical partner is Downer EDI Mining – Mineral Technologies (formally Roche Mining – Mineral Technologies). Downer EDI Mining – Mineral Technologies undertook the process flowsheet and basic engineering design and supply of all process equipment for both the wet and dry concentrators. TRIMEX Industries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Andhra Pradesh at the CII Conference held at Hyderabad in January 2001 to develop beach sand minerals. Under the MoU, TRIMEX has two more prospecting licenses for 40 sq km in areas adjacent to Srikurmam. The prospecting licenses will enhance current economies of scale and strengthen the company’s position as one of the most scalable industry players globally. The Srikurmam deposit lies in the northeast corner of the state of Andhra Pradesh, bordering on the neighboring state of Orissa. The deposit lies on the eastern coastal line between 18° 15’ to 18° 20’ north and 84° 0’ to 84° 10’ east on the coastline of Bay of Bengal. The global consumption of Titanium Dioxide pigment (TiO2) is projected to increase at a CAGR of 3 per cent from 4.96 million tonnes in 2008 to 6.25 million tonnes in 2015[1]. The supply of ilmenite is expected to be affected by a decline in supplies from traditional sources in Australia and North America. India, on the other hand, is slated to become a major supplier in the global production of ilmenite and Asia will supply about 22 per cent of total world production by 20151. India is projected to contribute at least 10 per cent of global ilmenite supply in the same timeframe.