APMDC move to explore beach sand minerals in North Andhra kicks up row

The government has decided to explore beach sand minerals totalling 10 million tonnes per annum. The only qualification for the bidder seems to be that they should have prior mining experience. The development has forced anti-mining activists to seethe with anger

Visakhapatnam: The floating of a tender by AP Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) soliciting parties interested to become Project Developer and Operator for Planning, Engineering, Financing, Construction, Development, Operation, and Maintenance of Integrated Beach Sand Mineral (BSM) Projects in Gara in Srikakulam district and Bheemunipatnam in Visakhapatnam district has caused concern among green activists.

The government has decided to explore beach sand minerals totalling 10 million tonnes per annum. The only qualification for the bidder seems to be that they should have prior mining experience. The development has forced anti-mining activists to seethe with anger.

“The move will trigger an environmental disaster. It may also lead to drastic change in beach morphology and violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) guidelines,” anti-mining NGO Samata executive director Rebbapragda Ravi told Bizz Buzz.

Green activists also raised their concern citing how a noted mining company was stopped from mining beach sand minerals near Srikurmam in Srikakulam long ago after objections from fishermen.

National Fisherfolk Forum general secretary Arjili Dasu said indiscriminate mining of beach minerals and dumping of hazardous effluents into the sea result in fish-kill.

“In my view, considering that the beach sands in this region are rich in atomic minerals, especially containing 40 per cent of Ilmenite, which in turn contains more than 50 per cent of titanium oxide and also contains 0.5 per cent of monazite, a competent CPSE under the direct oversight of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) should be involved in mining beach sands,” eminent social activist and former IAS officer EAS Sarma said.

In a representation to Dr. Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Secretary, DAE and VL Kantha Rao, Secretary, Department of Mines, Government of India, he said in the past, there have been instances of some private companies involved in beach sand mining clandestinely exporting monazite, which is the raw material for thorium, expected to be the primary fuel for the third stage of the nuclear power development programme, envisaged by late Dr Homi J Bhabha.

He said, “Atomic Minerals Concession (Second Amendment) Rules, 2019 notified by the Union Mines Ministry vide GSR 134(E) dated 20-2-2019 stipulates that beach sand minerals mined and sold by mining companies shall not contain even a trace of monazite (threshold of 0.0 per cent for monazite).”

Unfortunately, neither the DAE nor the Mines Ministry has an effective surveillance mechanism to make sure that the beach sand minerals processed by private mining companies do not contain any trace of monazite, nor would it be feasible to process such minerals without containing any monazite, he stated.

“I feel that it’s highly imprudent for the Ministry of Mines to have amended the mineral development, regulation legislation to re-introduce private parties into beach sand mining, as such a step runs counter to the national interest,” he said

The former bureaucrat appealed to the DAE and the Mines Ministry to keep on hold the tender enquiry issued by the AP Mining Department, pending a policy decision on the concern raised by him.