Mines

Delivering Operational Efficiencies

The year saw RAM make notable progress on enhancing operational efficiencies through better management and focused initiatives to boost savings. Some of the highest ever operational milestones achieved at the Rampura Agucha Underground Mine that represent to showcase our performance efficiencies and productivity include:

Mine backfilling/pastefilling of RAM at ~1.4 mn cum
Mine production drilling of ~555 kM
Mine exploration drilling of 23.5 kM
Mine development of 3,074 m achieved in a month
Consumption of fly ash as binder in pastefilling, resulted in direct reduction of cement consumption
Achieved production drilling of 10,728 m in a single month with one solo (production drill machine)
Successful installation of online gas monitoring system at UG Workshop
Chiller unit commissioned below -290 mRL North to supply air quantity of 36 m3/sec

With the successful commissioning of Ore Pass 3, the shaft can now be utilized for hoisting ore. The underground crusher can be utilized for increased crushing capacity, while tracks can be used further for waste hauling.

Shaft Gets New Edge

A slew of measures at the Rampura Agucha Shaft unleashed a series of benefits for the Mine during FY2021.

Shaft Integration with Decline achieved in February 2021

293 TPH High Density Thickener successfully commissioned at RAM in March 2021

Ore Hoisting from Rampura Agucha Shaft initiated in March 2021

Lateral development for Crusher-2 completed and erection of Crusher-2 initiated

New Connection. New Efficiencies

With the completion of the connection of North Decline to shaft bottom, a ~8.9 kM decline has been successfully created, enabling enhanced hauling capacity of the mine. This will lead to quicker manpower transportation and better maintenance of machines. Other benefits include additional fresh air to bottom levels in the north section as well as additional mining fronts to boost development and volume.

Setting New Benchmarks in Safety

With safety central to our mining operations, we introduced several innovative initiatives to enhance the safety quotient at RAM.

First-of-its-kind Underground

First Aid Station in India Developed The station is equipped with advanced medical apparatus to provide critical life-saving support for immediate underground first-aid facility. It is manned 24X7 by trained rescue personnel to aid emergency cases.

Underground Man-pass

Successfully Commissioned RAM’s first man-pass (from -255L to -280L North) will enable secondary evacuation passage at the time of any emergency in the mine.

Rampura Agucha Mine Received Platinum Award at ICQCC

A case study presented by Hindustan Zinc’s team on upgrading line of sight to teleremote production bogging for improved safety.

Taking the Digital Leap

Digitalization at RAM got a further push during the year with the implementation of several advanced initiatives:

10 Km mine wi-fi network established
Online health monitoring of HEMM equipment
Live tracking of equipment on 3D map
Fill factor monitoring via load scanner
Monitoring of substations via CCTV camera

Raising the Bar Higher

Taking on the challenge of improving the annual recovery of Pb & Zn Ore from the previous fiscal’s levels of 52.56% and 87.36% respectively, the RAM team tried to identify issues that could be a barrier to increasing recovery.

The team found the root cause to lie in:

High pH of Ore to mill due to paste dilution
Reduced susceptibility of reagents due to deterioration in water quality used in reagent preparation
Inability to maintain Ore blending & healthy COSP due to less production

To improve the metallurgical performance & increase recovery, the team identified and implemented the following solutions at the plant:

Dozing of Sulphuric acid in lead circuit to reduce pH for improved Pb flotation kinetics
Preparation of Nigrosine in soft water
Reagent preparation in fresh water to improve reagent susceptibility
COSP building/Ore blending to minimize frequent mill start-stops & reduce feed variation

These interventions resulted in surge in recovery of zinc, lead and silver, which in turn translated into higher MIC figures for all three in FY2021.

2% improvement in zinc recovery, followed by generation of additional 8,300 tons of Zn MIC
4.5% improvement in lead recovery, followed by generation of additional 2,750 tons of Pb MIC
1.5% improvement in silver recovery, followed by additional generation of 5 tons of silver MIC due to increase in Pb recovery

Best Practices Implemented

Installation of energy-efficient blower in Stream-1 to reduce power consumption by 0.5 kWh/ton

Online condition monitoring system for SAG Mill & Ball Mill gear boxes to improve reliability

Repairing of concrete reinforcement of Pb, Zn & Tailing thickeners to ensure structural and equipment safety

Reduction in Specific Power consumption in Stream-4 by 4 kWh/ton

Health Assessment Study of 132 kV Overhead line of RAM from 220 kV Gulabpura Substation

Implementation of IoT-based energy management system at Paste Fill Plant leading to 0.5 kWh/m3 reduction in power

Replacement of conventional wooden door by Emergency Exit Fire Door with Panic Exit device as per IS 3614

Getting Greener & Better

In line with the Company’s strong focus on Environment, Health and Safety, the Kayad Mine witnessed major initiatives and interventions to enhance its Green footprint and augment its safety quotient, with increased productivity and efficiency.

Solar power plant of 1 MVA capacity commissioned to generate Green energy and reduce carbon emission
Vertical Sprinkling in Water Sprinkler for dust suppression in Underground

Ore Production (Mt)

Becoming Safer & Smarter

A series of novel safety and digitization initiatives during the year helped further scale-up the safety, operational efficiency and digital standards of Kayad Mine. Realizing the importance of skill upliftment of underground workers for ensuring safety and performance optimization in mining, we have set up a Training Gallery at the Vocational Training Center.

Combating COVID-19: To combat the worldwide pandemic, at Kayad Mine, we implemented thermal screening of all employees coming on duty and ensured proper sanitization. There was no major COVID-19 impact on business due to robust planning, execution, care & precaution
Digitalization in Cement Silo: Installation of Level Transmitter and Differential pressure transmitter leads to:
- automatic and mechanized backfilling of void in UG
- overrunning of compressor and optimized cement consumption
- blocking of fugitive emission of cement, thus ensuring safe and healthy environment
Reliability enhancement of TH430 model 30T Trucks: Electro-magnetic retarders installed to enable speed control while going down the ramp, enhancing the life of the axle and safety

The Winning Streak Continues…

1

Ranked 1st in overall performance in 30th MEMC week in Underground Mine category.

2

Kayad Team won in the highest category “Par Excellence”, for its DMAIC project “Improvement in Fill Factor”, at the 34th NCQC-2020, organized by QCFI under Allied Concepts category, thus becoming eligible to participate at International Level ICQC-2021.

3

Kayad Mine received “State level BHAMASHAH award” for exemplary CSR work in Education.

Installation of extended beacon light for better visibility of all LMVs to avoid man-machine and machine-machine interaction
Three-second delay barrier and motion sensor at pedestrian pathways for signaling to person moving in junction area to avoid man-machine and machine-machine interaction
To deal with emergency in mines, stench gas was installed at the mine portal entry to evacuate people to fresh air in the event of an emergency at UG
Provision of biometric access control in Electric Overhead Traveling crane (EOT) to prevent unauthorized operation
Kayad Quality Team-SmartQ won cluster level and participated in Hindustan Zinc Level Infinity 2.0 CI Convention-2021

Boosting Productivity

Ore production at RDM touched an all-time high during the year, with record production drilling. A series of innovations led to increased productivity and steady growth for the mine.

Introduction of shotcrete for dealing with poor ground, civil work and barricade construction, thus leading to improvement in overall productivity
Installation of new equipment, including grader, water cannon, MinCA, Spraymec and Miller, to achieve higher production targets
Commencement of production from new Blocks - EU3, NL2 & M5
Implementation of triple tube for UG exploration drilling led to 70% increase in ore recovery

Enhancing Efficiency

The growing focus on sustainable growth translated into further enhancement in efficiencies and safety at RDM during the year. The following measures contributed to this improvement:

Introduction of Charmec and Bulk emulsion explosive for blast optimization thereby reducing charging time and improving progress in every round of development blast
Commissioning of 1,000 cfm surface compressor at 2060N to improve compressed air flow for drilling machine thereby reducing running hours of existing compressors
Commissioning of Underground Workshop at -87 mRL for maintenance of equipment and reducing hauling of 6 km to surface
Completion of Phase-1 shaft shutdown to enhance skip capacity and structural strengthening in journey of shaft upgradation from 0.7 to 1.35 Mtpa
Strengthening of Ball Mill Main foundation, with the 750m2 grating replaced in mill thereby improving HSE
Introduction of table-top XRF metal analyzer for improving mill metal recovery by around 0.25%. Implementation of Fibre-reinforced shotcrete barricade for backfilling, thereby improving stope cycle and development saving of around 50m per annum

Execution activities were launched during the year for combined pastefill and Dry Tailing Plant at Rajpura Dariba, which will help in increasing ore production from 1.2 Mtpa to 2 Mtpa. This will also facilitate additional utilization of tails by ~20% for back-filling, and will reduce stope turnaround time.

Shaft upgradation capacity from 0.7 to 1.35 Mtpa is planned in FY2022 H1 where skip freeboard will be optimized bringing back skip cycle from 30 to 40 skip per hour

The Smart Edge

An early adopter of new technologies, SKM has expanded its digital footprint further to introduce a new digital way of working with the vision to increase its Overall Equipment Effectiveness by 20% during the year as part of its digitalization program – Drishti. The mine has been equipped with an optical fiber network, which was extended to a Wi-Fi enabled network for use by various utilities. This high bandwidth Wi-Fi network supports a data transfer rate of 10 GBPS. SKM has also recently commissioned an Integrated Control Room for mine and beneficiation plant operations from a single room.

Minimizing Jamming

By tracking its assets inside the mine using Wi-Fi tags and LASER scanner-based positioning system, SK Mine achieved significant reduction in shift-hour breakdowns to cut down on jamming issues. The average response time to clear jamming issues also reduced by 40%. The control room played a major role in tracking daily operations and critical processes.

Predictive Maintenance

OPTIMINE analytics and sustained efforts of SKM’s digital task force made it possible to predict failure of engine, brake, transmission, retarder and engine cooling system. Shift-wise predictive maintenance activities were performed, thus reducing the breakdown hours of Loaders and Trucks. This led to significant improvement in availability of these machines at the mine.

The Performance Edge

FY2021 saw SKM sharpen its performance edge with several new initiatives to drive efficiency. The result:

Mine achieved its highest ever monthly mine development (2,200+ meters) in January 2021
Paste filling established at 1,000+ run hours monthly in Q2; tailings utilization went up to 73%
Mine reported global benchmark performance of operating 1,095 Hours of Paste Fill Plants in October 2020
90.8% lead recovery achieved in July 2020; remarkable improvement in beneficiation process
Mine ventilation capacity enhanced from 850 m3/s to 950 m3/s
Ore production commenced from auxiliary lens SKA1
Short Interval Control (SIC) established in operational planning to leverage technology in day-to-day activities of planning, scheduling and tracking
Achieved Highest Asset Optimization Score across mining units of Hindustan Zinc
Reduction in cement consumption norms, with enhanced utilization of Fly Ash in Paste fill recipe
Successfully extracted crown pillar stope with better recovery than planned

During the year, the Graphite floatation system was commissioned at Mill 3 of Sindesar Khurd Mines, which will enhance the smelter throughput and boost recovery.

Setting A New Benchmark

How We Enhanced Operating Hours at Paste Fill Plants

Carrying forward its efforts to challenge the status quo and set new industry benchmarks, the SKM team successfully achieved running operations of more than 1,000 hours consistently in both its Paste Fill plants, thus resulting in significant reduction in underground voids.

The team, comprising members from plant and underground, used DMAIC methodology for process improvement. (Define: identify the opportunities for improvement; Measure: identify current performance; Analyze: identify root causes for gaps/problems in performance; Improve: identify possible solutions and implement, and Control: maintain the gains that are achieved.)

Post analysis, the team identified the following key initiatives:

Detailed advance back filling planning for next three months and ensuring availability of stopes (three stopes at a time for both paste plants)
Commissioning of new pipe handler, with pipe handler and one XL to be deployed only for paste filling pipeline work
Installing diverter valve in UG for changeover to increase availability
To maximize filling, throughput all bore holes with minimum diameter of 254 mm
Changes in internal pipeline (MOC) to trellex pipeline, in order to reduce leakages in plants
Maintain critical spares for PD Pumps, Filters, Vacuum Pumps & Pumps
Mixer Discharge Chute modifications & vibrator installation, to avoid frequent chute jamming
Installation of online greasing system in both mixers
Schedule maintenance plan for paste plants during curing time of underground stopes

The Result

Operating hours increased to a record 1,095 Hours in October 2020.

Raising the Efficiency Bar

Extensive Innovation and judicious deployment of technology pushed up the efficiency bar at Zawar Mine during FY2021. A look at some of the innovations and technological interventions:

Backfill (Hydro fill & Paste fill) plants commissioned at Mochia and Zawarmala mines, respectively, to improve Mining Ore Recovery and global stability
Obtained Environmental Clearance for 4.8 Mt of Ore Production & Ore Beneficiation for Zawar Group of Mines
Started opening up the New Mining Block “Purvanchal” at Balaria Mine
Discovered new lenses at shallow depth (Western lenses at Zawarmala Mine and South Baroi lenses at Baroi Mine)
Completed Balaria mine decline to connect lower levels to provide decline access, mine capacity enhancement and additional outlets
Achieved more than 98% auto production booking system compliance
Installed Feeder Monitoring System (FMS) for notification of tripping, over mobile, in view of the complex power distribution at Zawar Mine
Introduced Power saving initiatives, resulting in the reduction of GHG emissions by more than 10K ton CO₂
Complete transformation of Zawar Mine from conventional to mechanization
Voice communication system installed & commissioned at Zawarmala, Baroi & Mochia
Integrated the voice communication system with IP phones at all four Mines, Mill & Surface

With the commissioning of the Backfill plant at ZM, the use of tailings in backfilling will go up, thus in turn increasing the life of the tailings dams. The commissioning of backfill plants at Zawarmala and Mochia mines will de-risk operations and provide opportunity to mine left-out high-grade ore in pillars.

Growing Sustainably & Safely

ZM’s growth trajectory FY2021 mapped significant progress on the critical yardsticks of sustainability and safety.

Commissioned the Mill Link Road along with truck parking, to minimize man-machine interaction
Completed the layout upgradation and pedestrian path at Mochia Portal
Installed & commissioned additional 150 cum/sec ventilation fans at Balaria for improving Mine environmental conditions
Interconnected Underground raise bore at Mochia & Baroi Mine for improving underground environmental condition
Commissioned central HSD filling station at DG set and established HSD filling station at Baroi Mine
Inducted key service equipment for UG to make operations safe
Upgraded the oil handling infrastructure at all sites and at the central store

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Statutory Reports

Financial Statements

Mines Performance Overview

Rampura Agucha Mine (RAM) Performance Overview

4.3 Mt

453 kt

Delivering Operational Efficiencies

Shaft Gets New Edge

New Connection. New Efficiencies

Setting New Benchmarks in Safety

First-of-its-kind Underground

Underground Man-pass

Rampura Agucha Mine Received Platinum Award at ICQCC

Taking the Digital Leap

Raising the Bar Higher

Best Practices Implemented

Kayad Mine Performance Overview

2.63 Mt

7.7%

Getting Greener & Better

Ore Production (Mt)

Becoming Safer & Smarter

The Winning Streak Continues…

Rajpura Dariba Mine Performance Review

1.2 Mt

47 kt

Boosting Productivity

Enhancing Efficiency

Sindesar Khurd Mine Performance Overview

4.8 Mt

257 kt

The Smart Edge

Minimizing Jamming

Predictive Maintenance

The Performance Edge

Setting A New Benchmark

How We Enhanced Operating Hours at Paste Fill Plants

Zawar Mines Performance Overview

3.9 Mt

151 kt

Raising the Efficiency Bar

Growing Sustainably & Safely

Rampura Agucha Mine (RAM)
Performance Overview