Lok Sabha Question No. 82 (STARRED), answered on 2023-02-08
Subject: MoU between HCL and IIT
Ministry: MINES
Asked by: Pritam Gopinath Munde, Chandra Sekhar Sahu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINES

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 82

ANSWERED ON 08.02.2023

## MOU BETWEEN HCL AND IIT

* 82. DR. PRITAM GOPINATHRAO MUNDE: SHRI CHANDRA SEKHAR SAHU:

Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  a  Memorandum  of  Understanding  (MoU)  for  collaborative  and sponsored  research  projects  was  signed  between  Hindustan  Copper  Limited  and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad in the recent past;
- (b) if so, the details and the salient features thereof;
- (c) the  details  of  production  of  copper  in  the  country,  mine-wise  during  each  of the last three years;
- (d) the details of the future expansion plan, if any, proposed by HCL along with the details of production targets fixed and the extent to which the said MoU is likely to be helpful for HCL in meeting such future expansion plan targets; and
- (e) the details of expenditure likely to be  incurred on  modernisation  and infrastructure development of HCL to meet the said expansion targets?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF MINES, COAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI)

- (a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF  LOK  SABHA STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  82  FOR  ANSWER  ON  08.02.2023  ASKED  BY  DR. PRITAM GOPINATHRAO MUNDE  AND SHRI CHANDRA  SEKHAR  SAHU REGARDING MOU BETWEEN HCL AND IIT

(a)  &  (b):  A  Memorandum  of  Understanding  (MoU)  has  been  signed  between Hindustan  Copper  Limited  (HCL)  and  Indian  Institute  of  Technology  (IIT-ISM), Dhanbad on 03.01.2023 for participating in projects of HCL, to be called as 'identified project' upon mutual discussion with each other on case to case basis.  The MoU will focus primarily in the areas of development of sustainable mining plan, preparation of DPR for mine expansion projects, providing technical assistance in various geotechnical, hydro-geological studies & field tests, instrumentation and implementation of new monitoring technologies, formulation of EIA report, suggestions for improving safety in mining operations, reduction in cost of copper ore production and improving productivity of mining operations, training & development of HCL engineers for skill development and knowledge updating in areas of exploration, mining beneficiation etc.

(c) : Details of mine-wise production of copper ore in the country during last three financial years are as follows:

(Unit: Million Tonnes)

| Unit           |   2019-20 Ore Production |   2020-21 Ore Production |   2021-22 Ore Production |
|----------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|
| MCP, MP        |                      2.5 |                     2.2  |                     2.4  |
| KCC, Rajasthan |                      1.1 |                     0.9  |                     1.1  |
| ICC, Jharkhand |                      0.3 |                     0.04 |                     0.02 |
| Total          |                      3.9 |                     3.2  |                     3.5  |

(d): HCL  is  targeting  to  achieve  capacity  expansion  of  12.2  million  tonne  per annum of copper ore production by FY 2028-29. The year-wise plan is as under:

(Unit: Million tonnes)

| Company   | Envisaged Year-wise Production Plan   | Envisaged Year-wise Production Plan   | Envisaged Year-wise Production Plan   | Envisaged Year-wise Production Plan   | Envisaged Year-wise Production Plan   | Envisaged Year-wise Production Plan   | Envisaged Year-wise Production Plan   |
|-----------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
|           | 2022-23                               | 2023-24                               | 2024-25                               | 2025-26                               | 2026-27                               | 2027-28                               | 2028-29                               |
| HCL       | 3.93                                  | 4.24                                  | 4.58                                  | 6.39                                  | 8.25                                  | 10.99                                 | 12.20                                 |

The  MoU  is  likely  to  be  helpful  for  HCL  to  a  substantial  extent  in  meeting requirements of HCL in future as under:

- i.  IIT-ISM, Dhanbad under the control of Ministry of Education, Government of India, is one of the reputed national level Institutes in the field of mining & earth sciences and their study reports along with recommendations & laboratories test reports are widely  accepted  by  the  statutory  authorities  namely,  DGMS,  IBM,  State  Forest Departments,  MoEF&CC  etc.   As  a  result,  various  approvals/permissions  etc required for mining operations from statutory bodies may become easier & faster.
- ii.  IIT-ISM has a long association with HCL and past study /test reports etc. prepared by them have proved useful and have been accepted by the said statutory bodies.
- iii.   Awarding 'identified project' to IIT-ISM within the ambit of the terms & conditions stated in the MoU may lead to substantial minimization of the extensive paperwork and time taken towards awarding projects.

(e): The estimated Capex likely to be incurred for achieving the Phase-I capacity expansion of 12.2 Million tones per annum of copper ore is about Rs. 3434 Crore.

*****