Top 10 Most Popular Mining Companies in India

Do you know about the mining companies in India?

I am SURE many of you do not have any knowledge about some of the great mining companies operating in India.

In fact, we hardly know about the impact of these mining companies on our lives.

Just in case you are unaware, India produces 95 MINERALS.

These are mined within India by top mining companies that operate in the country.

Among the 95 minerals mined in India are four fuel-related minerals, 10 metallic minerals, 23 non-metallic minerals, three nuclear purpose minerals and 55 minor minerals including building and other minerals, according to data provided by the Ministry of Mines and other departments of the Indian government.

Traditionally, mining has been a monopoly of the Indian government.

Private players have been allowed to participate in India’s lucrative mining business only since the last few years. This is because mines are very essential for India’s economy and industrialization.

India is self-sufficient in most minerals and also exports high quality mineral ore to foreign markets.

List of Top 10 Indian Mining Companies

If you wish to know which companies are movers and shakers of India’s large mining industry, here is the list.

1. NMDC Ltd

NMDC Ltd is India’s topmost mining company. It was established in 1958 as National Mineral Development Corporation.

Over the years, it assumed the role of the mining company and functions under the Ministry of Steel.

NMDC is engaged in the exploration of wide range of minerals across the country including iron ore, copper, rock phosphate, limestone, dolomite, gypsum, Bentonite, Magnesite, diamond, tin, tungsten, graphite and silicon from beach sands, among others.

NMDC is India’s single largest iron ore producer.

It makes more than 30 tons of iron ore annually from three fully mechanized mines. NMDC Ltd has contributed significantly towards the development and mining of natural resources in India.

In 2008, the Indian government declared it as ‘Navratna’ company, an accolade reserved for public sector enterprises of national and economic importance.

NMDC Ltd is not only India’s largest miner, but it also exports huge volumes of metal ores to foreign countries through bilateral trade treaties between Indian and foreign governments as well as private foreign companies.

Also Read: Top 10 Most Trusted Steel Companies in India

2. Uranium Corporation of India Ltd

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd is an Indian government-owned mining company that is of extreme national significance.

UCIL is involved in the exploration and mining of Uranium and other rare minerals required to fulfil the needs of India’s civilian and military nuclear projects.

It plays a key role in nuclear power generation of this country while providing Uranium and other minerals required for military purposes.

UCIL operates several mines across India, including six in Jharkhand, one in Andhra Pradesh and one each in Karnataka, Telangana and Meghalaya.

This company has made India achieve self-reliance in Uranium required for Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors used for power generation, among other purposes.

UCIL functions directly under the Department of Atomic Energy. Despite mining Uranium and other minerals for nuclear purposes, UCIL has a commendable environment and health safety record at locations where it operates mines.

Also Read: Top 10 Iron Companies in India

3. Hindalco

Formerly called Hindustan Aluminum Company, Hindalco Industries Limited, is flagship enterprise of India’s corporate giant, the Aditya Birla Group.

The company has a turnover in excess of US$18billion and is the leader in Aluminum and Copper mining sector of this country.

Further, Hindalco operates the single largest aluminium rolling company in the world.

Hindalco also holds the unique distinction of being Asia’s biggest producers of primary Aluminum. Hindalco’s copper facility consists ranks among the world’s largest custom smelters at a single location.

Hindalco is also engaged in mining bauxite, coal and other minerals required by power companies and other Indian industries.

Hindalco is a major player in aluminium production worldwide and has operations in 10 countries.

The company’s division Birla Copper produces copper cathodes and continuous cast copper rods, along with other by-products, including gold, silver, and DAP fertilizers.

Hindalco and Birla Copper rank as India’s largest private producers of gold. Hindalco has been accorded Star Trading House status in India.

Also read: Top 10 Petrochemical Companies in India

4. Vedanta Ltd

Vedanta Limited is engaged in iron ore, copper, zinc, lead, silver and aluminium mining in India.

Vedanta Limited is India’s largest and world’s second largest company to mine zinc and Vedanta Ltd holds over 78 percent of India’s primary zinc industry.

It is also among the top 10 silver miners of the world, with an annual capacity in excess of 600 tons.

Vedanta holds a 64.9 percent stake in Hindustan Zinc Limited. The company is the largest aluminium producer in India with a capacity of 2.3 Million Tons Per Annum.

It commands 40 percent share of the domestic aluminium industry. Vedanta supplies iron ore from Goa to the domestic market with large exports to China and Japan.

Sesa Goa Iron Ore, a Vedanta Group company was founded in and now ranks among the top low-cost producers of iron ore of India.

Additionally Vedanta Ltd operates one of the largest custom copper smelters in India.

5. Coal India Ltd

Coal India Ltd is the world’s single largest miner and producer of industrial grade coal required as fuel in thermal power plants and other applications.

It is a public sector enterprise owned by the Indian government.

It was established in 1975 as a small company to mine coal with an annual capacity of about 79 million tons.

Due to its economic significance to India and the national economy, the government has named CIL as one of the ‘Maharatna’ enterprise

Coal India Ltd operates through 82 mining areas. The company consists of seven wholly owned coal mining subsidiaries and one mining planning and consulting firm.

CIL operates in eight Indian states. Additionally, CIL also manages 200 other establishments like workshops, hospitals and other facilities.

It owns 26 technical and management training institutes and 102 Vocational Training Institutes Centers.

CIL also operates the Indian Institute of Coal Management, the only educational facility of its kind in India.

6. Hutti Gold Mines Ltd

Hutti Gold Mines Company Limited (HGML) is one of the topmost mining companies of Indi and is the nation’s only producer of primary gold.

The company is owned by the state government of Karnataka. HGML is engaged in exploration, development and exploitation of gold deposits of Karnataka.

The company’s Hutti Gold Unit produces whopping 550,000 tons of primary gold per annum.

The company currently GML currently processes ore from three gold mines in various parts of Karnataka.

It plans to expand operations by exploring potential deposits of gold in Karnataka and is considering expansion of its existing mines after the Chitradurga gold mine was closed and had to diversify.

Most of India’s gold comes from HGML. Due to the unique nature of its mining business, HGML holds a special significance for India and the national economy.

Also Read: Top 10 Oil and Gas Companies in India

7. Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Ltd

GMDC Ltd is a major mining company in India.

It is an enterprise of the Gujarat state government. GMDC Ltd is one of the most profitable mining companies in India.

It is involved in projects to produce Lignite, Bauxite, Fluorspar, Manganese, Silica, Ball Clay, Bentonite and Limestone. Additionally GMDC Ltd has also ventured into power generation.

Further, GMDC Ltd is also acclaimed as one of the most environment-friendly mining companies in India.

Its employees spend several hours as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility to clean up areas located near mines and negate any adverse impacts of pollution caused by the company’s activities.

GMDC Ltd has won several national accolades from the Central government for the important role it plays in the Indian economy and generation of employment for skilled persons in Gujarat.

8. MOIL

MOIL stands for Manganese Ore India Ltd. It is the largest producer of Manganese ore in India.

MOIL is also a ‘Miniratna’ company and won this distinction for being a key player in India’s economy. With headquarters in Nagpur, Maharashtra, it ranks among the pioneers of the country’s mining industry and was established in 1962.

However, the company traces its history to 1896 when it was established as Central Province Prospecting Syndicate which was later renamed as Central Provinces Manganese Ore Company Limited (CPMO), a British Company incorporated in the UK.

It was later taken over by the Indian government. Stakes in MOIL are held by the Central government as well as state governments of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

MOIL ranks 486^th among Fortune 500 companies of India. In Maharashtra and adjoining Madhya Pradesh, MOIL operates some 16 mines for producing Manganese Ore.

This ore is supplied to domestic industries. A large volume of MOIL’s Manganese ore also gets exported to major markets abroad including China and Japan, among others.

9. Indian Rare Earths Ltd

Indian Rare Earths Ltd is a unique mining company. As the name suggests, this top mining company of India explores and produces rarest minerals in India.

These include Ilmenite, Zircon, Rutile, Sillimanite and Garnet, among others, which are called as Heavy Minerals.

Additionally, Indian Rare Earths also produces 10,000 tons per annum of Monazite and over 11,220 tons per annum of Rare Earth Chloride. These are minerals are of extreme importance to India for civilian and military purposes.

The company works in a very specialized field of rare minerals and hence, is little known to most people. Indian Rare Earths Limited was established on August 18, 1950.

It commenced operations with its first unit, the Rare Earths Division located in Alwaye (Aluva) in Kerala. In 1963, Indian Rare Earths Ltd was accorded the full status of Public Sector Undertaking.

It operates under administrative control by Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

Indian Rare Earths Ltd is one of the topmost mining companies of India. Only a few other countries possess capabilities to explore and produce rare minerals

10. FCI Aravali Gypsum & Minerals (India) Ltd

FCI Aravali Gypsum & Minerals (India) Ltd is a mining company that functions under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

It is the largest mining company in India that produces gypsum for agricultural as well as industrial purposes.

Since 2003, this company supplies gypsum to cement industries and various land development projects funded by World Bank in the Uttar Pradesh state of India.

For over six decades, FCI Aravali Gypsum & Minerals (India) Ltd has been supplying high-grade gypsum to the Indian government fertilizer plant based in Sindri near Dhanbad, for producing Ammonium Sulphate.

FCI Aravali Gypsum & Minerals (India) Ltd has mining operations in Rajasthan, near the cities of Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Suratgarh. All mines operated by this company comply with international environment protection standards.

The company ensures that areas lying in the vicinity of mines do not suffer pollution due to its activities.

FCI Aravali Gypsum & Minerals (India) Ltd was earlier a division of Food Corporation of India Ltd. However, it was made a separate mining company in 2003.

Interesting Facts of India’s Mining Industry

India is one of the topmost producers of several minerals.

• India is the third largest producer of coal. Coal production in India was recorded at 51 Million Tons Per Annum during financial year 2017-2018.
• India has the fifth largest estimated coal reserves in the world, at 308.802 billion tons, according to a report released by the Ministry of Mines during the financial year 2015-2016 in FY16.
• India is the fourth largest producer of iron ore globally. During fiscal year 2017-2018., production of iron ore stood at 210 MTPA.
• India holds eight per cent of deposits of iron ore in the world.
• India is the third largest crude steel producer in the world with an output of 101.4 MTPA recorded in 2017.
• Crude steel production in the country rose to 102.34 million ton during the financial year 2018-2019.
• According to the Ministry of Mines, India has seventh largest bauxite reserves, estimated at 2.9 Billion Tons Per Annum in the financial year 2017-2018.
• India’s aluminium production capacity was 1.60 MMTA recorded between April and September 2017.
• The aluminium industry will grow to an estimated 3.35 MMTA by the year 2020, according to the Indian government.

Wrap-Up

While top mining companies of India are active in this country, they are also providing various services abroad.

This includes exploration of minerals, consultancies in setting up mines, smelters and other infrastructure as well as Joint Ventures that are now under consideration with foreign partners.

India’s mining sector is set to boom due to the rise in infrastructure development and automotive production, says the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.