Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand, CMD, NALCO, called upon industry leaders, Policy Makers and stakeholders in the Aluminium value chain to scale up production of the ‘wonder metal’ to meet the rising demand as consumption of Aluminium is poised to reach 10 million tons in the next decade.
Addressing the 22nd International Conference on Non-Ferrous Minerals and Metals 2018 at Ranchi, Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand, CMD, NALCO, said, ‘’We need to start thinking ahead and take steps to protect the interests of the Aluminium sector. The consumption of Aluminium will reach 10 million tons in the next 10 years. The country needs to scale up production of Aluminium to meet the demand.’’
Dr. Chand received Knowledge Excellence Award from Secretary, Mines, Govt. of India for Outstanding Contribution in Aluminium Knowledge domain.
The Conference was inaugurated by Secretary, Ministry of Mines, Shri Anil Gopishankar Mukim and was attended by an impressive gathering of industry leaders and policy makers, including from major Non Ferrous producers like NALCO, Aditya Birla, Vedanta and HCL. Shri Anil Gopishankar Mukim spoke about the proactive role of Government in making minerals available to producers & easing auction of mining blocks.
Dr. Chand also cautioned, ‘’Unless we are prepared to scale our production to reach the rising demand, our country will have to import about 50 % of the requirement, which will drain our economy through rising import bills.’’ Dr. Chand also focused on the role of non-ferrous metals in economy and briefed the gathering about the future prospect of Aluminium in India. He appealed to the Government to explore more mineable reserves of bauxite as the current rate is barely 17% of the deposit. A special NALCO booklet on Sustainable Mining titled ‘Mine with Mind’ was released at the International Conference at Ranchi, which was organized by Corporate Monitor.
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APS/SNC
