Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Steel

31-August-2015 16:03 IST

1. The Hon’ble Union Minister of Steel & Mines, Shri Narendra Singh Tome, is leading a delegation to Australia.

2. Hon’ble Minister had been invited by Australian Minister of Trade and Investment  & Australian High Commissioner, New Delhi to participate in international mining event ‘AIMEX- 2015’ in Sydney, Australia during 1st to 4th September, 2015. 

3. Asia Pacific’s International Mining Exhibition (AIMEX- 2015) is the flagship event within the portfolio of established industrial trade fairs staged by Reed Exhibitions (REED MINING EVENTS), Australia’s leading exhibition organizer.  In this event, Australian and international suppliers of mining technology, equipment and services come together with mining industry buyers and suppliers from all mining disciplines throughout the Asia-Pacific region to explore mutually beneficial business opportunities, exchange technical information and network in an interactive business environment.

4. In the proposed visit, besides attending the conference, it has been planned to visit a mining site for exposure of the Minister to latest technologies being used in mining. To facilitate the same the Minister would be travelling to Perth to visit mines in predominant mining areas located in Western Australia on 3rd 4th September before flying back to New Delhi from Perth.

5. The key outcomes expected from the visit are as under:

a.  Organisation of India Day on 1st September at AIMEX, Sydney – a technical session to showcase Indian mining sector reforms and best practices with the international stakeholders at AIMEX, Sydney.

b. Bilateral meetings with Australian counterparts with the Minister of Mines and Steel to foster India-Australia cooperation.

i. Hon. Mike Baird, Premier, State of New South Wales

ii. Hon. Andrew Robb, Minister of Australian Trade and Investment

iii. Hon. Ian Macfarlane, Minister of Australian Industry & Science

iv. Hon. Colin Barnett, Premier, State of Western Australia

c. Bilateral agreement between Geological Survey of India with Geoscience Australia for preparing a roadmap for close cooperation for capacity building for using new technology in exploration.

d. Release of E-Book on exploration – providing full information to mining juniors and other stakeholders on investment opportunities available in India.

e. Meetings with global leaders in mining sector BHP, Rio Tinto, etc. to encourage them to invest in India especially in the segment of transfer of technology.

f.  Visit to leading mines and discussion with the project managers on sharing the best mining practices.

6.  It may be noted that regulatory framework in the Mining sector in India has under gone major transformation in India with notification of MMDR Amendment Act 2015 in March 2015. Australia is the leading country in the mining exploration globally. The weakest link in the Indian Mining Sector has been lack of investment in exploration. With recent changes in the act, there is hope that Indian Mining sector would be able to attract foreign exploration companies along with latest technologies. However, the same would require presenting the new frame work to international players. In such a scenario, the Minister’s visit to Australia would provide the apt opportunity to showcase the emerging mining sector framework in India to International Stakeholders.

7.  Thus, the visit would enable to have interaction at the Ministerial level between the two countries for cooperation in the development of mining sector for mutual benefit.  The participation of Indian side would provide an opportunity to explore investment opportunities, interaction with mining companies on the possibilities of joint ventures which would help in exploring business opportunities besides highlighting the capabilities of the Indian mining sector.

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YSK/Uma

Mining sector reform drives international outreach to attract exploration investment and technology collaboration through bilateral cooperation. A ministerial delegation will attend an international mining exhibition and undertake bilateral meetings and site visits to present India's mining regulatory reforms, promote exploration investment, and encourage technology transfer. Key operational measures include organising an India Day technical session, negotiating a roadmap for cooperation between geological agencies, releasing an exploration e-book for stakeholders, engaging global mining firms to foster investment and joint ventures, and visiting mines to assess and share best practices. These actions aim to attract foreign exploration companies and advanced technologies by showcasing the reformed regulatory framework.