Altios India partnered with Austmine (an Australian industry body for the Mining, Equipment, Technology, and Services sector) for a webinar on the current situation, opportunities, and challenges of the Indian Mining market.

Led by Madhav Raina-Thapan (Managing Director, Altios India), the session delved into:

  • An overview of the Indian mining sector, including key players, geographies, and timelines
  • Products and services currently available and the role of multinational firms
  • Private sector investment in the space
  • Opportunities and challenges in the market, including mergers/sales, key reforms, and risks

 

Some key takeaways from the session include:

  • India is the world’s 2nd largest producer of coal and steel; 90% of production is dominated by a few public sector undertakings
  • Lack of investor confidence in the market as FDI in mining has been very low over the past few years
  • Long term outlook is positive given the large reserves of natural resources and push from the government to increase production, with particular focus on the Mine, Develop, and Operate (MDO) model
  • Ongoing coal and mineral auctions are a positive move as they will attract more private players to the industry; however, environmental concerns are causing players to shy away from coal assets globally
  • Current processes are inefficient; there is scope for foreign companies to bring in more efficient exploration and mining technologies, particularly for underground mining
  • The government is actively encouraging unrestricted private investment, so now is a good time to explore entering the market
  • The safest short-term approach is a project-based one, but companies should also seriously explore how they wish to demonstrate long-term engagement in the market

 

Key opportunities for METS players lie in:

  • Exploration
  • Technologies for current operations
  • Technologies for future and more complex operations
  • Human Resource and Skill development
  • Environmental services & Community management

 

Key challenges include:

  • Inconducive market for large scale and long-term financial markets as incentives are not provided for expensive and high-risk initiatives
  • Long time lag (3–5 years) between winning a bid and actually starting operations
  • Weak regulations, particularly with regards to governance and transparency

 

The session was concluded with a panel discussion with Dallas Wilkinson (Managing Director Asia Pacific, Dennemeyer IP) and Mac Powolny (General Manager, Nautitech Mining Systems) on the Indian METS market.


To view the webinar, click here