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989 Wellington St |
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Surda Mine
Brief about Surda Project
 Backfill practices Historically a capacity of not more than 600 tons/day was achieved during HCL times. IRL has achieved a capacity increase to 1060 tons/day at the Surda Project. Ore passes have been refurbished, with rings being redesigned for better performance. The focus has primarily been on preparation work in conjunction with improvements in water handling. A total of four bunkers are available currently and a 5th one will start with the introduction of new and effective slurry pumps providing better management of tailings in the month of Oct’09. These pumps will efficiently transfer high density slimes or classified tailings from the processing plant to underground mining stopes. Present backfilling capacity is 32000t per month taking all constraints (water, pipe-jam) and it will be 41000t in the month of Oct’09. IRL believes that through better back-fill practises it can achieve potential benefits in terms of reduced subsidence, improved support for mining excavations, increased underground extraction, reduced tailings on the surface and reduced rock burst leading to enhanced worker safety.  Safety systems at the mine IRL endeavours’ to harmoniously achieve its twin goals of continuous improvement in mine safety and mine production operations at its flagship mining enterprise Surda. Besides IRL feels strongly that a profitable mining operation can only be sustainable if it is also safe for its workforce. Additionally, IRL has undertaken a series of initiatives to introduce global best practices in Underground Mine Safety to emphasize its commitment with clarity. Ventilation Stope re-entry time has been reduced from 2hrs to 30 minutes by increasing the quantity of intake air in stopes through proper maintenance of intake and return air ways, door, fan ducts etc. Lighting Every level and loading point is properly illuminated in the Surda Underground. Work is on-going to illuminate stopes with cluster lights in a phased manner. Roof Support Traditionally roof-bolts are used for support, our teams have increased the load bearing capacity of roof-bolt through focussed improvement in grouting mixture from 6T to 8T.This improvisation has shown very encouraging results. Communications Every stope and plate has been linked by telephone with state-of-the-art EPABX System installed by Siemens Communication for underground contact. New bells have been fixed-up at every level plate to achieve better safety measures. Equipment Worn by the Miners Best in class PPE is provided to all underground workers at Surda. Including the best quality Overall, Gumboot, Helmets, Hand Gloves, Safety Goggles, Ear muff/Ear plugs, Cap lamp, Dust mask etc is provided to each miner. Mine Rescue We have our own Rescue Team at Surda Mines which comprises of both officers & workers. We have steadily introduced world class Mine Rescue Equipment in our Underground operations. We regularly organize for external rescue experts to demonstrate and train our rescue team at site to learn about the application of Mine rescue techniques. The emphasis of such sessions is to prepare them for deft handling of rescue operations during underground mining disasters. Mine Planning, Geology and Surveying IRL employs best practice when it comes to mine planning, geology and surveying on the mine. All development headings are geologically mapped and the face marked up as “Ore” or “Waste”. In stopes, ore and waste are fired separately with different blast hole spacings allowing a better separation of same. Channel samples are taken to define ore blocks in rooms and panels. All data is entered into a computer and viewed in 3D via Surpac software. Survey is carried out electronically with a Leica Total Station and can be viewed in 3D. These tools allow effective mine planning. Plant Filter IRL imported TC-30 Ceramic Disc Filter from China. The ceramic disk filters are used to dry the final concentrate. As the discs revolve the thickened concentrate attaches to the disks and all excess water is removed since then moisture content in cake is less than 8%. The filter system has been operating since August 2008. The entire erection & commissioning was done by IRL team. Label capacity of the filter is 18 DMT concentrate per hour. The filter is extremely energy efficient. It takes only 10% energy requirement of conventional filter.
Plant Flotation cells RCS 10 state-of-the-art 350 CFT Metso flotation cells label capacity 2200 TPD have been commissioned at the Mosabani Concentrator plant. The erection & commissioning has been done by the IRL team. It takes only 10% energy requirement of conventional disc filters.  Tailing achievements IRL aims for 95% recovery.Test /Bench Scale R&D is in progress to take recovery from 93% to 95% without sacrificing Concentrate Grade.   HR achievements, Recruitment, Our HR policy aspires to be consistent with the highest standards of our industry and will reflect international best practice. IRL’s HR initiatives aim in achieving effective manpower planning, ensuring harmonious industrial relations, work towards improving the quality of work life of employees and that of their families & provide a safe and healthy work environment which continuously benchmark and upgrade the standards of safety and hygiene. HR at India Resources has recruited a record 1250 plus employees in a span of 24 months through walk-in–interviews, advertisement, referrals and campus selection methods. Skilled workforce during the boom years 2007 -2008 in the minerals sector was a difficult time to attract talent and yet the experienced HR team attracted a mix of skilled and highly trained professional manpower from the process plant, metallurgy, mining and accounting disciplines. HR has had the additional responsibility of framing policies, rules & procedures in conjunction with Price Water House & ABC Consultants, Kolkata. Other activities that HR has an ongoing involvement in are the resolution of blockades, disruptions and activities that are likely to impede IRL’s normal functioning. HR has through peaceful means and through the process of continuous dialogue negotiated the satisfactory resolution of various such logjams from time to time. HR has a set of daunting tasks cut out for it, as the Surda –Mosabani copper region straddles a rather unique mosaic of intersecting socio-economic crossroads composed of competing regional, ethnic, linguistic & class identities. This potent mix presents an interesting set of challenges for the HR division at IRL for the foreseeable future. PR Achievements & Community Development Initiatives Public Relations IRL has effectively demonstrated its commitment to developing the wealth of socio-economic resources in our Copper Region having upheld that it is our professed aim to work with employees, local communities, NGOs and other stakeholders in genuine partnerships that are characterized by integrity, transparency, cooperation and mutual benefit. IRL's operations are located in a remote region of India, and as such the vicinity has its own stakeholder values, constraints and opportunities. As members of these communities, we respect those values, abide by the constraints, respect the rights of indigenous (Adivasi) communities and seek to derive mutual benefits from the opportunities that exist. We have successfully projected our abiding interest in the development of our mining hinterland region by initiating multi-pronged dialogue with local communities to appreciate their collective social aspirations. IRL strives to pragmatically contribute to meaningful convergence on such issues in an honest, open and time-honored approach. a. Community Initiatives The Surda project retains strong community support, and IRL’s initiatives range from educational and medical services to helping build local capacity so small businesses can benefit from our mineral operations. Our corporate social initiatives are focused on local communities with which we are associated and where our operations are situated. We have an ongoing infrastructure renewal program wherein IRL has undertaken to maintain old roads in the vicinity of the plant & mines. This is ambitious in scope and approx. 5 kms of arterial roads have been bituminized in the past 24 months since start of operations here. We have collaborated in managing the Supply of power (electricity) in the area by actively assisting the local Mosabani town co-operative with our resources and know-how. b. Education & Training Voluntary & statutory training programmes for workers are an on-going & continuous priority at the Surda Mines Training Centre . To help improve small business productivity and efficiency, the Surda Project provides training and technical assistance to polytechnic students, along with practical work experience through this program. c. Health IRL has been active in its contribution to community programs, including maintenance of the local reservoir, where a new water filter was installed. This reservoir is the chief source of fresh drinking water to the Mosabani township and therefore vital to its survival. A monthly medical check-up is organised by trained paramedics on IRL’s rolls for around 2000 school aged children and adults in the adjoining villages of the Mosabani-Surda region. d. Enterprise & Job Creation Small enterprises in the local region have benefitted immensely through a partnership initiative with IRL’s Procurement and R&D wings aimed at developing replacement parts for OEM equipment at the Surda – Mosabani Project. Around 30 SME’s have benefitted through knowledge sharing and collaborative enterprises alone. With a further indirect employment through these SME’s employing roughly 250-300 workers at their units. Local aborigines (Adivasi) communities have benefitted from IRL’s mining operations by being gainfully employed to supply clay and wooden material used in UG operations as this has been their traditional craft/livelihood.  |
