The mineral separation plant at Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd. (KMML) will be modernised in a timely manner, Industries Minister P. Rajeeve said here on Tuesday. He was inaugurating a seminar on ‘Relevance of mineral sand in modern industry’ organised in connection with the CPI(M) State conference.
“A joint project with the Indian Rare Earths Ltd. (IRE) will be implemented to increase titanium production. The aim is to strengthen the public sector by modernising outdated systems, making it competitive and profitable, and turning it into an asset,” said the Minister. He said that the Cabinet has approved the Neendakara package for land acquisition for mining. “The land will be acquired on a lease basis. The highlight of the project is that after mining, the land will be filled and returned to the owner,” he said.
Mr. Rajeeve pointed out that the country needs 4 lakh tonnes of titanium oxide while the production is only sixty thousand tonnes. “Normally, the demand and price of our product should increase. But with the Centre liberalising imports, goods come from other countries at low prices. This situation can be overcome by imposing an anti-dumping tax. With this, KMML will become a globally important company,” he said. KMML MD Pradeep Kumar presented the topic while seminar committee chairperson J. Mercykutty Amma was the moderator. Sujith Vijayan Pillai, MLA, seminar committee convener S. Jayamohan and Matsyafed chairperson T. Manoharan also spoke.
