The Initial Accusations On VV Mineral For Illegal Mining May Not Be True

Tamil Nadu, December 13, 2014 (Newswire.com) - The business was started by Mr. S Vaikundarajan, Chairman of VV Group of companies. However, the company were said to be involved in illegal mining of monazite in the state of Tamil Nadu. All of these claims would be unsupported and false.

In a newspaper article, VV Minerals were accused of two illegal activities. The first claim was that conducted some illegal activities on the beach area and were further involved in transportation of monazite to their warehouses. The second claim is based on the amount of thorium reserves in the country. This is as per a report presented in the Lok Sabha in 2002 by the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMDER). The report states that there were 12.8 tonnes of thorium present in India. But, a similar report states that there were just about 10.7 tonnes of thorium present in India. Thus concluding that nearly 235,000 tons of thorium was missing. Now the question arises on where did the 2.1 ton of monazite disappear in the given time frame?

In an article published in the year 2014 by Jaideep Prabhu, a reporter from the DNA helped in eradicating these claims put on VV Mineral. He wrote on some possible logical explanations as to why the company was not involved in such activities. He writes that when one talks about restricting access to any personnel on the site, then one must keep in mind that allowance of unauthorised people into private facilities by itself is a breach of security and safety. Going on to say that companies that store nuclear minerals must not allow any pedestrians to enter such premises without prior and proper permission. And such an act is illegal. Thus, with these companies under the jurisdiction of AERB, it is only after their permission that visitors and inspectors are allowed to enter these premises.

The explanation above is not only simple but also logical as to why people were not allowed to enter the mining areas.

In regards to the second claim, which delves into the missing amount of thorium reserves and the illegal hoarding and exportation of a rare mineral by private companies like VV minerals, Mr. Jaideep concludes that it is unlikely as the mineral is present abundantly in the country. Thorium can also be found in many parts of the world like Brazil. This proves that the mineral is readily available and not rare and also pointing out that since the mineral is not rare, it need not be exported illegally to gain added benefits. Also the figures that were claimed in the accusation did not add up to the actual consumption or production in the country. Facts show that the actual consumption of thorium is about 4 (million) tonnes annually in the country and the total consumption of thorium in the world can be summed up to about 10 (million) tonnes. Statistics prove that the IREL itself exports nearly about 5 (million) tonnes of monazite per annum. Thus evidence here proves the numbers quoted in the claim do not match up
to the actual consumption. Therefore, this must clear VV Mineral’s name from any wrong doing.

VV Minerals have been awarded as the ‘NUMBER ONE GARNET EXPORTERS’ of India. VV Mineral also undertakes zircon mining, rutile mining and ilmenite mining.