Opportunities and challenges of the alumina industry in India

India's rich bauxite resources, low processing costs, and the great potential market demand for aluminum, which are no doubt a strong guarantee for the development of the bauxite project. However, due to many factors in India, project development involves many interests, and there are many challenges in actual operation.

India has a very rich bauxite resource, and the development of the aluminum industry has great advantages. High-quality bauxite resources and low processing costs are powerful guarantees for the high profits of Indian alumina plants.

In addition, the Indian aluminum market has great potential demand. India's per capita aluminum consumption is about 1.2 kilograms, far lower than the level of 4 to 10 kilograms in other developing countries such as China and Brazil, and far behind the level of 25 to 40 kilograms in developed countries such as the United States, Japan, and Germany. 1 is shown. In recent years, India has maintained a high GDP growth rate. With its population of more than 1 billion, with the development of the power industry, automobile industry, packaging industry and infrastructure industry, the demand for aluminum will grow steadily in the future.

I. Status of alumina industry in India

90% of the world's alumina production is used to produce aluminum metal, the remaining 10% used in other chemical industry, medicine and the like. World alumina production has increased by an average of 2% to 3% annually. Therefore, with an annual output of 65 million tons in 2009, the world's total alumina output is expected to reach about 90 million tons by 2020. At present, the production capacity of alumina projects in India that have been built and under construction (which can be put into production before 2011) are shown in the table.

India alumina plant capacity table (unit: million tons / year)

India's abundant bauxite resources, low production costs and huge market demand potential determine the future of the aluminum industry. However, the development of the Indian aluminum industry has been slow, and various problems have been difficult to implement due to repeated discussions.

Second, Indian bauxite reserves

Global bauxite reserves exceed 35 billion tons, India accounts for about 9%, India bauxite reserves are estimated to be about 3 billion tons, of which Orissa has reserves of 1.6 billion tons, Andhra Pradesh has reserves of 700 million tons, Gujarat It has a reserve of 17.8 billion tons. Figure 2 shows the distribution of bauxite reserves in countries around the world.

Indian bauxite is very suitable for the production of metallurgical grade alumina, mainly in the following favorable factors:

(1) The deposit is shallow in depth and easy to mine;

(2) The ore grade is high (the alumina content is mostly above 50%), the production consumes a small amount of ore, and the amount of red mud is small;

(3) low content of active silicon oxide and low consumption of caustic soda;

(4) mostly gibbsite type, with low dissolution temperature and low energy consumption;

(5) The content of impurities including organic matter is low, which is conducive to production.

Third, the challenges of developing alumina projects

Although India has many favorable conditions, it has to face many difficulties in building an alumina plant. This is why in the past 20 years, Indian entrepreneurs have preferred the expansion of old projects rather than the development of new alumina projects. In general, the operation of any new alumina project may encounter the following problems.

(1) Land acquisition

In India, the most difficult part of a new project is the acquisition of land. In general, bauxite accounts for about 10% to 15% of the total cost of the product. Therefore, the choice of the site is crucial. It should be as close as possible to the mine to ensure stable ore supply and low transportation costs. However, to establish a smelter near the mine, it is quite difficult to obtain a suitable forest-free land.

(2) Transfer of family placement

There are also difficulties in transferring and resetting families in the project area. These families have to leave the land they have been living in and settle in new places. There is likely to be a series of conflicting behaviors.

(3) Acquisition of mining forestry license

Most of the bauxite deposits on the east coast of India are located in forest areas. For this reason, it is necessary to obtain the relevant forestry permit, and the approval of various procedures may take 3 to 7 years.

(4) Backward infrastructure

The bauxite-rich plant, infrastructure is relatively backward, the development of external facilities such as power supply, water and construction, rail and road transport and other high-voltage grid, are more critical issues that require careful handling, and local residents remain A good relationship will help solve such problems.

(5) Government work style

Any new project requires the approval of multiple government departments; usually, it has to travel between these departments, these agencies are generally less efficient, not only delay time, but sometimes even feel the existence of these institutions; too much Legal provisions, the transfer of documents seems to be snail walking, waiting for approval requires patience.

(6) Democratic consciousness

The activities of NGOs in the mining area often become the bottleneck of project implementation. In particular, the residents of the bauxite-rich areas on the east coast of India, mostly unconserved tribes, are easily agitated by democratic organizations.

(7) Water source configuration

Determining a stable supply of water is another big problem. It is very important to study the various options carefully and finally choose the right water source. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that the selected water source will not have any impact on the living and agricultural irrigation water of local residents.

(8) Legal permission

The central and state governments of India have strict guidelines and complicated procedures. It is quite difficult to obtain timely legal permission for the project.

4. Matters needing attention in the development of alumina projects

The following main analysis will discuss the issues that should be noted in the new alumina project in India.

(1) Site selection

The site should be selected in a non-agricultural area. Most of the land should be wasteland, non-agricultural land or only a single crop, unoccupied, mainly held by the government, which is conducive to the acquisition of land. Despite all these conditions, in most cases it is impossible to avoid involving private land.

(2) Land acquisition process

Adopting the “free choice” land acquisition method, this scheme is simple and easy, that is, compensation for families and individuals providing land in various ways, cash payment, job provision, free priority subscription of shares and so on. During the acquisition process, when the government determines the landowner, it communicates directly with these owners. Provide a job for each family providing land to ensure a stable economic income, and to arrange vocational skills training for those who receive work to make them competent.

At the same time, basic living allowances are granted to all families who have lost their land until they are hired by their homes to ensure that they can earn a living from the date they are handed over. In addition to cash compensation, each farmer who transfers the land will also receive the original share allotment equal to the amount of cash compensation.

Using this method, the enthusiasm of local residents to invest in the land can be adjusted to ensure a stable relationship between enterprises and farmers, companies and land providers.

(3) Resettlement development plan

Develop a detailed resettlement plan through continuous consultation with the Regional Resettlement Committee. Among them, the most important thing is to provide jobs for all people affected by the project and need to transfer. If you don't want to work, you will be provided with a one-time financial subsidy to provide independent housing for all transferred families, including various welfare facilities (such as water, electricity, etc.), as well as public events that should be in the residential area. If you do not want to live here, you can provide a one-time subsidy.

From the date of the transfer of the land, the family members who gave up the land will be paid a basic living allowance on a monthly basis until they have a suitable job. Other handling costs such as family and livestock should also be considered.

(4) Acquisition of mining licenses

Although this is a very lengthy process, the following steps and procedures are necessary:

1. Submitted to the EIA/EMP study completed by the ICFRE by the Ministry of the Environment and Forestry

2. Submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry for drainage treatment

3. Submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry for geological hydrology research report

4. Report to the State of the Environment and Forestry on the status of wildlife

5. Impact of research projects on plant and animal communities

6. Obtain a site permit by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry

7. Formulate a forest land treatment plan

8. The Indian Minerals Bureau officially approved the mining plan to operate in India.

In our investigation, we learned that the government agencies in India are step by step and routine. In order not to bury the proposal in the file pile, it should be tracked in time to ensure that it advances, rather than waiting for government instructions, and should take the initiative to understand the progress of each step in case it is delayed at a certain point.

Government agencies have strict time plans. If you miss the scheduled date, don't expect those officials who are busy dealing with their cumbersome documents to help you. In addition, pay attention to the following two points.

(1) Listen carefully to all the opinions of government officials and make them feel that everything he said is correct and be cautious.

(2) Personal emotions should not be affected by work. Individual anger and stress should be right and wrong. They should control their frustration, anger and disappointment so that they can concentrate on their work.

Experience should be actively shared with partners to understand their strategies for success and to learn from failures. In short, if you can fully prepare the necessary documents, track the progress of the situation in a timely manner, handle the relationship with government officials, show patience, and exert all the intellectual, physical and emotional potential to overcome all difficulties, the resistance is Motivation, coupled with luck, is only a matter of time.

V. Conclusion

China is in the stage of rapid economic development. The resource problem has seriously restricted the rapid development of China's economy. The use of the "stone of other mountains" has become one of the effective ways of China's current or future. India has abundant bauxite resources and a large number of skilled and cheap labor. Chinese companies investing in alumina projects in India, in addition to political factors, are also full of challenges in practical operations, but it is not impossible. If it works properly, take the initiative to assume more social obligations, benefit the local area, and make the factory and its surrounding residents full of confidence in the future sustainable development, and difficulties may turn into opportunities.

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