5 STAR RATING MINE AWARD - 2017 TO KAYAD MINE


Kayad Mine received 5 Star Rating Mine Award - 2017 under aegis of Indian Bureau of Mine, Ministry of Mine on 15th February, 2017 by Hon'ble Minister of State (IC) for Mines, Coal, Power and New & Renewable Energy, Govt. of India - Mr. Piyush Goyal. The award was received by Mr. Sunil Duggal - CEO, Hindustan Zinc and Mr. K. C. Meena - Unit Head, Kayad Mine during 2nd National Conclave on Mines and Minerals, New Delhi.

SAFETY TOWN HALL MEETING AT HZL

Safety Town Hall Meeting was organized on 4th March, 2017 wherein all Units along with marketing offices, including Head Office joined the live interaction. Mr. Sunil Duggal - CEO, HZL, Mr. Amitabh Gupta - CFO, HZL, Mr. Naveen Singhal - Director Projects and Mr. Laxman Shekhawat - COO Mines addressed about 2000 employees and contract workers and recently joined GETs. The Town Hall was conducted from Udaipur from the auditorium emphasizing on safety both on-site & off-site. The Town Hall also saw interactive session wherein several employees from each location asked questions and gave suggestions towards improving safety.


HINDUSTAN ZINC TO INVEST RS. 570 CRORE ON 'ZINC FUMER PLANT' TO BOOST VOLUMES

Hindustan Zinc, India's only and the world's leading zinc-lead-silver producer is all set to commission its first Zinc Fumer Plant to extract metals from the waste.
The most advanced global zinc production technology, hydro-metallurgical, generates Jarosite as part of the metallurgical process to produce zinc. Due to generation of Jarosite waste as part of the process, there has been a significant loss of metals like zinc, lead, copper, silver and other minor metals in the waste. Globally, the zinc-lead mining industries have been facing challenge towards recovery of metals from waste.
Industry sources estimate that Hindustan Zinc loses about 27,000 MT of metal per annum in this waste.
The most successful process for recovery of metals, without the formation of Jarosite, is Zinc Fumer Plant.  Currently Zinc Fumer Plants are installed in few Chinese and Korean Zinc plants and are quite successful. Zinc Fumer Plant not only deviates from the process of formation of Jarosite, instead, recovers the metals from the waste.
CEO of Hindustan Zinc, Mr. Sunil Duggal informed  that “Hindustan Zinc has placed formal order to China Non Ferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering & Construction Co Ltd (NFC) and we are expecting to commission the first Zinc Fumer Plant by Middle of 2018.  The first Zinc Fumer Plant is being commissioned by Hindustan Zinc at Chanderiya with a cost of Rs. 570 crore will improve recovery of Zinc from 96.8 % to 97.5% (from MIC) that would add about 3000 tonnes of Zinc from just one smelter per annum.” While treating waste, the Zinc Fuming Plant will also produce a large quantity of slag that would be fully utilized by the cement industry.”
The major recovery from Zinc Fumer Plant would be in Lead and Silver, an increase of Lead production by about 4700 tonnes and Silver by 33 tonnes per annum. The Chanderiya Hydro-II Smelter of Hindustan Zinc has a capacity to produce 210,000 tonnes of Zinc.
Hindustan Zinc has an overall current capacity to produce about 825,000 tonnes of Zinc, 180,000 tonnes of Lead and about 500 tonnes of Silver.
The Company has plans to put-up Zinc Fumer Plant at its other Smelting Complexes - at Hydro-I in Chanderiya and in Rajsamand at Dariba Smelting Complex. Once the commissioning is completed at all the three locations, the capacity of Zinc, Lead and Silver is likely to increase significantly, which would ultimately add to the overall volumes, revenue and profits of the Company.



International Women's Day at Hindustan Zinc

Hindustan Zinc is committed for the empowerment of the women in its community as well as in its workforce. In its continuous journey to strengthen women employees, the “International Women's Day” was celebrated with great enthusiasm on 8th March 2017 across the locations of HZL.

Head Office Udaipur
International Women's Day was celebrated with great zeal at the Head Office. The event was graced by the presence of the CFO and the Head-HR of Hindustan Zinc. The Head-HR reaffirmed the commitment of raising the diversity from 12% to 30% in the coming years. The CFO also shared his views on the important role a woman plays whether it is at work or at home. It was then followed by two inspiring stories of  Ms. Shama Jain and Ms. Rizwana Sultan. It was highly motivating.
We had a cake cutting ceremony by all the females to mark the beginning of the celebration followed by a small get together of all the employees at Head Office. The employees also conveyed their wishes and messages on the signature poster.

Sindesar Khurd Mines
The theme for this year's International Women's Day was 'Be Bold For Change'. So, for a change from regular office; our female executives took on the headlamps, boots and rescuers to have a sneak-peek into the depths of the mining industry. They did a comprehensive visit to experience the intricacies of underground operations at SK Mine.

Zinc Smelter Debari
Zinc Smelter Debari celebrated the day with a get together of all female executives, non-executives and contract labour. The event began with cake cutting and motivational speeches by Dr. Fatma Liyaquat - HOD, Environment and Mr. Manoj Nashine - Unit Head.

Pantnagar Metal Plant
The celebration at Pantnagar Metal Plant started with a surprise greeting by Unit Head with flower bouquets, chocolates and greeting cards to the female executives and employee's spouses. Visit to an Orphanage centre  - 'Dushiya Baba Kaniya Chatrawas' was also planned where the PMP team distributed stationery and fruits.

Rampura Agucha Mines
RAM organized a program for female executives at its Rampura Agucha Club, Community Centre. The event witnessed 20  ladies and with this various entertaining activities including Paper Dance, Musical Chair, Spoon Race & Balloon Race were performed by the participants. To mark the occasion, a Cake Cutting Ceremony was carried out by all females. The evening concluded with a feast, gifts and prizes. This event was considered an opportunity to deepen ties among the female executives and to understand each other very well.

Chanderiya Smelting Complex
During Women's Day celebration on 8 March, 2017 at CSC, Lady police officials from Chanderiya, Sadar and Gangar Thana also participated and became part of it.


BEING SAFE

A unique initiative - “BEING SAFE” is to bring in a sense of safety as responsibility towards employees, particularly in contract employees/families/children. Corporate Communication team has made 11 visits in Units (except Pant Nagar) along with Zinc School and has interacted with about 1500 employees/families/children overall. 4 films have been made involving our own employees and their families to focus on safety. Meditation sessions are organized post the screening of films to understand what goes inside their minds post such incidents. Along with the Safety messages and movie screening, live case studies and events are shared with the employees.
A direct on-the-spot feedback was taken from the employees which is found to be very encouraging. Many of the employees share their personal experiences beyond the boundaries of the Plant.
About 87% of employees found this informal interaction more impactful and more connecting to them. Specifically made Safety films were also appreciated by about 86% people and about 83% employees backed the essence of Safety Rules.
'Being Safe' has certainly strengthened the culture of belongingness within Hindustan Zinc. We know it is a journey that needs to be continued to achieve Zero Harm in the organization…




GLIMPSE OF BEING SAFE WORKSHOP


WHO STOLE MY HAPPINESS - BEING SAFE


A young boy was playing with a sharp knife and his father kept telling him not to do so. The stubbornness of the child made him continue with his act. His father warned him that if his finger gets cut or he gets hurt, it would be very painful. The boy was confident of managing his act. The father for once decided to let the learning be through experience this time. Suddenly, the knife fell on his feet and as expected the blood started coming and the child started crying profusely. Father rushed towards him and also the child's mother. But both stopped after walking few steps. They knew that the child though was crying, but he was safe. The learning was happening through his experience this time. The child was feeling the pain and was asking for help and promised not to repeat it in future.  
Why we often want to learn only through our own experiences, why not with experiences of others ? Why we feel that safety of others is our responsibility, when they themselves do not consider it to be their own responsibility ? Why we tend to learn only by doing mistakes ourselves, when there is enough scope of getting hurt by mistakes of others ? 
Many questions, but reply seems to be just One.. Be Safe For Your Own-Self And For Your Family. 
Safety is not just compliance or a fear or adherence, it is more to be understood as a practice and as a philosophy.
All of us have watched our mother playing with fire while making food for us. Many times she must have burnt her fingers. But have you ever tried putting your fingers on hot-plate. No.. We know the outcome would be evident.
How much scared are we when our children do not reach home after school on time. We keep peeping from the window to assess every second of delay. We often complain schools for not informing about the delays in school busses. We are scared of any untoward incident. Imagine, when we the bread-earner of the family, fail to turn up to our homes on time, or at all ? What our families go through ? What thoughts they would have in their minds ? 
We tend to advise our children to wear helmet, not to sit with a friend who does rash-driving. But when it comes to our own-self, we only tend to be liberal on our own rules. We may find many reasons to comment on how people drive, but often ignore our own families views and requests on how we ourselves drive. For us, Rules are meant to be Broken.
Accidents or incidents do not come with an appointment, they are always without invitation. But still prevention always work better than cure.
Let us assess where we are going wrong and what needs to be corrected, with a positive frame of mind. 
I don't want my safety to become someone else's responsibility, do you, when I know I can handle myself...

INNOVATORS OF ZINC - PRODUCING 200M3 WATER PER DAY FROM UNUSED STEAM…

Hydro-I plant at Chanderiya Smelting Complex, commissioned in 2005 generated about 43-45 tonnes of steam from Waste Heat Recovery Boiler which is used to generate power in condensate type turbine of 9.40 MW. During this process, about 25 tonnes of steam gets condensed and remaining 20 tonnes is used for leaching process. Since leaching LP steam requirement is about 35 tonnes, the remaining 15 tonnes steam needs to be taken from CPP.
To reduce the cost of steam from CPP, in 2012 condensate type turbine was replaced by 4.3 MW back pressure type turbines. Due to this, the excess steam of 6-8 tonnes/hr started venting off through final vent. This contributed to water loss of about 150 m3/day.
A team comprising Mr. Deepak Jain - AM, O&M, Mr. Kailash Chandra Choubisa - AM, E&I, Mr. Sunil Dutta - Executive, O&M, Mr. P.C. Kumawat - AM, O&M, Mr. Bhagwan Lal Dhakar - Executive, O&M of Unit-II under guidance of Mr Rajesh Luhadia - Unit Head, Unit-2  brain-stormed for utilization of this vent steam as part of water conservation project.
The team came up with an innovative idea to utilize the available spent heat exchanger to arrest the unutilized 6-8 tonnes of vent steam.
A condensing system was connected before the final vent to convert the excess steam into condensate water and recycled the same into the boiler circuit. Due to additional in-built capacity of condensing system, vent steam of Hydro-2 Roaster could also be condensed with the same system. This lead to water recovery of more than 200m3/day against target of 130m3/day from unused steam.

INNOVATORS OF ZINC - RECOVERY OF ZINC FROM SLAG IN LEAD AUSMELT PLANT BY OPTIMIZING IRON AND SILICA RATIO IN CONCENTRATE




The Ausmelt furnace at Chanderiya produces Lead bullion using Lead concentrate and is designed to handle 3.9% Zinc and 5% Graphitic Carbon. Higher Zinc in this concentrate results in higher Zinc percentage in slag and higher Graphitic Carbon results in poor separation of slag from Lead bullion. It also lowers the life of the lance.
Since September 2016, Ausmelt plant was getting Lead concentrate with 6-9% of Zinc and 5-16% of Graphitic Carbon which was more than the optimal percentage of Zinc and Graphitic Carbon.
A team led by Mr. Pranabesh Roy - SBU Head and comprising Mr. T.V.S.S. Nagaraju - AM, Process, Mr. Vinay Kanthalia - AM, Process, Mr. Shyam Goswami  - Jr. Executive, Process, Mr. Vivek Menaria - Jr. Executive - Process, Mr. Sandeep Paliwal - AM, Mechanical and Mr. Anil Inani - AM, Instrumentation as team members took the task to overcome this challenge.
It was studied and observed that when the ratio between Iron to Silica (Fe/SiO2) is more than 0.9 and Zinc is above 20-22% it results in formation of severe build-up inside the furnace. Also, to control bath temperature due to high Graphitic Carbon, Ausmelt furnace needs at least 25-30 MT/day of extra secondary material. The only in-house secondary material available was ISF dross which contains 25-30% Zinc and 55-60% Lead.
The team studied the effect of Zinc and other impurities like Iron & Silica in slag. To maintain the ration of Iron to Silica (Fe/SiO2) below 0.9, Silica was added as flux which brought down the ratio to 0.6 to 0.7 and thus was able to handle 32-35% Zinc in slag.
The team was successful to use high Zinc and Graphitic Carbon concentrate and was able to consume 800-1000 MT per month of ISF dross inventory which otherwise was increasing every month. Optimization of this slag chemistry also helped to get highest lance life ever (6 batches per lance) for the month of December 2016 with record of 16 batches for a single lance. This increased the average life of lance by 3 times.

INNOVATORS OF ZINC - DISCOVERING CWM-SERIES OF LENS WITH HIGH METAL CONTENT AT ZAWAR…


Zawar Mines, one of the oldest mines, is all set for expansion and has planned to increase its production capacity in upcoming years. The goal is to produce 4 million tonnes of ore from all the four underground mines in Zawar.
 Mochia, the oldest mine of Hindustan Zinc has planned to contribute 1.2 million tonnes in terms of ore production. To reduce the pressure of production, it was necessary for the mining team to keep two or three stopes ready all the time. For this, the team required sufficient Reserves and Resources to meet the planned production targets.
 At West Mochia section, there exist a series of lenses called CWM-Series of lenses. These lenses possess significant potential but were completely untouched in terms of production. The intersections of these lenses were at greater distance from surface but remained unexplored from underground at shallow depths.
 Mochia Geology Team comprising Mr. Ashutosh Pathak (In-charge, Geology Department-Mochia),  Mr. Santosh Kumar Guin (Geologist), Mr. Prashant Biswas (Geologist) and Mr. Sayandeep Chakraborty (Geologist) decided to utilise this unexplored resource below the earth at shallow depth from surface and identified this area for exploratory drilling. The team drilled around 2800 metres of these lenses and added about 9 lakh tonnes of R&R with 5% Total Metal Content in just a year which is sufficient to cater to the needs of Zawar during development stages.
The team has planned further drilling and production from this area in the upcoming times which will divide the pressure of production from other stopes and help in meeting the goal of 4 million tonnes.

MY SILVER GLITTERS MORE THAN A GOLD - ASK FOR ZINC

While travelling from “Ask for Zinc - A to Zinc in our Lives”, there also falls one letter 'S', denoting Silver. A market that is dominated majorly by imports in India with Hindustan Zinc as the only primary Silver producer in India with over 95% market share in production.
Who knew, the lines that we see on the rear windscreen of cars, which are used for defrosting and defogging, are made from Silver. Surprisingly, in the United States, an alloy can only be called Silver if it has at least 90% Pure Silver.  Who knew that Silver has its origin from a Sanskrit word, later derived from Latin  ARGUNAS, meaning Shining.
Globally, the highest usage of Silver is Industrial Fabrication (51%), followed by Coins and Bars (25%), Jewellery (19%) and Silverware (5%). In India, the highest usage of Silver is Coins and Bars (37%), followed by Jewellery (30%), Silverware (17%) and Industrial Fabrication (16%).
Used in conjunction with almost every common industry, Silver makes itself practically indispensable.
Hindustan Zinc is aiming to produce 1000 tonnes of Silver from current level of about 500 tonnes annually. The company proposes to capture 10% of the Silver consumption market in India from the current level of just about 5%.

HISTORY SAYS IT ALL…
Silver is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for Silver, 'Siolfor,' which itself comes from ancient Germanic 'Silabar'. Silver's chemical symbol (Ag) is an abbreviation of the Latin word for Silver, 'Argentum'. The Latin word originates from Argunas, a Sanskrit word meaning shining.
One of the most precious ancient metals to have roots in Zinc, Silver is believed to be discovered around 5000 BC. While Silver objects have been found dating back before 4000 BC, mankind learned to separate Silver from Lead in 3000 BC. Around 700 B.C. early Mediterranean civilizations were using the brilliant white metal as currency.
Gold was considered to be the skin of the ancient Egyptian gods, but their bones were thought to be of Silver. In ancient Egypt, Silver was considered much more valuable than Gold. It was rare in existence and on the list of valuables. Items of Silver were listed above those of Gold during the Old Kingdom.
The mining of Silver began between 5,000 and 6,000 years ago in Anatolia, or what is now Turkey. One of the first five metals to be discovered by the mankind. Over the next several centuries, the epicentre of Silver mining shifted from Greece to Spain to Germany to Eastern Europe.

PARKES PROCESS - EXTRACTION OF SILVER FROM ZINC
There have been many ways of extraction of Silver through smelting process.  One of them has been the Parkes Process, a pyro metallurgical industrial process for removing Silver from Lead during the production of bullion. It is an example of liquid-liquid extraction.
Parkes process (patented in 1850), involves adding Zinc to Lead and melting the two together. When stirred, the molten Zinc reacts and forms compounds with any Silver and Gold present in the Lead. These Zinc compounds are lighter than the Lead and, on cooling, form a crust that can be readily removed.
The process takes advantage of two liquid-state properties of Zinc - the First is that Zinc is immiscible with Lead and the Second that Silver is 3000 times more soluble in Zinc than it is in Lead.
When Zinc is added to liquid Lead that contains Silver as a contaminant, the Silver preferentially migrates into the Zinc. Since Zinc is immiscible in Lead, it remains in a separate layer and is easily removed. The Zinc-Silver solution is then heated until the Zinc vaporizes, leaving nearly pure Silver. If Gold is present in the liquid Lead, it can also be removed and isolated by the same process.

SILVER ELECTROPLATING -
A CHANGE IN ERA
Silver's industrial role is much more than that of Gold and it is for this reason that a shortage of Silver has always had higher negative implications than there would be if there was a shortage of Gold.
Silver has the highest electrical conductivity amongst all the metals, which is why it is used as an alloyed form for electrical contacts. Satellites, lasers, high-tech weaponry, robotics, telecommunications, all need Silver. Conductors, contracts, switches and fuses need Silver too because of its non-corroding or non-overheating properties.
Engine bearings rely on Silver. The strongest bearing is made from steel and is electroplated with Silver. Silver's high melting point allows it to withstand the high temperature of engines and Silver's lubricant-like features help reduce friction between a ball bearing and its housing. Due to Silver's ability to absorb oxygen, it is being researched as a possible substitute for platinum to catalyse oxidation of matter collected in diesel engine filters. The other industrial applications of Silver electroplating include use in electrical parts and components like Copper connectors and Brass connectors.

SOLAR PANELS - THE POWER OF SUN, BROUGHT TO YOU BY SILVER
If we add the amount of Solar Energy that is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, land and oceans every year, we end up with approximately 3,850,000 EJ (exajoules or 10^18 joules). To put it in more understandable terms, this amount of energy is equivalent to  :  2.7 million earthquakes of the same size as the Tohoku earthquake in Japan (2011) - 40,000 times the total energy consumption in the United States - 8,000 times the total consumption in the whole world -  40% of the energy that is required to heat the entire volume of water we have on Earth by 1°Celsius. Every square meter of our planet receives around 1,366 watts of direct Solar radiation.
In America, one solar panel system is installed every four minutes. NASA is currently working on a Solar-powered aircraft.
Silver is a unique metal. It has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of all metals, and it's the most reflective. These physical properties make Silver a highly valued industrial metal, especially when used in Solar cells.
Industry estimates that 40 tonnes of Silver is required to produce panels that would generate 1 GW of Solar Power. With this industry (solar) virtually non-existent 10 years ago, Silver demand in the Solar industry is growing at a fast clip as an alternate form of Energy source in India.
Silver is a primary ingredient in photovoltaic cells, and 90% of crystalline Silicon photovoltaic cells use Silver paste. When sunlight hits the silicon cell it generates electrons. The Silver used in the cell works as a conductor to collect these electrons in order to form a useful electric current. The Silver then transports the electricity out of the cell so it can be used. Further, the conductive nature of Silver enhances the reflection of the sunlight to improve the Energy that is collected. Therefore, if it wasn't for Silver, Solar wouldn't be as efficient in turning sunlight into Energy.
India is currently 100% importer of Solar parts where Silver is used, the major countries from where it is being imported are China and Japan. Taking forward the vision of our Prime Minister to produce 50 GW of Solar Energy, and producing Solar parts, Indian consumption of Silver will be all set to increase by about 2000 tonnes. This would also create large ancillary industries and ample employment opportunities.
California is home to the largest Solar Power Plant in the world, located in the Mojave Desert. It spans 1,000 acres. California also dominates the Solar Power market, with a market share of 44% in 2015. California, Arizona, and North Carolina are the top three US states for Solar power, based on the amount of cumulative Solar electric capacity installed. There are now nine states in the U.S. where 100% of new electrical energy comes from Solar Power.
As it turns out, Solar Energy wouldn't work the same way if it wasn't for Silver.

HEALTH - SILVER GLITTERS IN MY MEDICINE
Hippocrates, "The Father of Medicine", knew of Silver's healing and anti-disease properties. In World War I, before the widespread use of antibiotics, it was imperative on the battlefield. Silver foil was wrapped around wounds to help them heal.
Silver, a germicidal, kills bacteria and other lower organisms. Silver ions act as a catalyst by absorbing oxygen, which kills bacteria by interfering with their respiration. This antibiotic property, along with its non-toxicity, has given Silver an essential role in medicine for thousands of years.
In medicine, Silver is incorporated into wound dressings to treat external infections and also used as an antibiotic coating in medical devices. It is also used in some medical applications, such as urinary catheters (where tentative evidence indicates it reduces catheter-related urinary tract infections) and in endotracheal breathing tubes (where evidence suggests it reduces ventilator-associated pneumonia). The Silver ion (Ag+) is bio-active and in sufficient concentration readily kills bacteria in vitro. Silver is also used in other medical instruments and is a key part of the technology behind X-rays. It has also been used in eye drops and in dental hygiene to cure and prevent infection. Silver Sulfadiazine is especially useful for burn victims because it kills bacteria while also allowing the skin to regrow. Silver ion treatments can heal bone infections and allow regeneration of damaged tissue.
Today, the presence of antibiotic-resistant superbugs increases the demand for Silver in hospitals. Small amounts of Silver can coat hospital surfaces and medical equipment to prevent the spread of pathogens.
Silver and Silver nanoparticles are also used as an antimicrobial in a variety of industrial, healthcare, and domestic applications.

FORECAST - THE SILVER INSTITUTE
As per Indian Minerals Yearbook, published by Indian Bureau of Mines, India is the biggest importer and largest consumer of Silver in the world. Considering the current pattern of utilisation of Silver in the country and the anticipated increase in the GDP, the future demand for Silver is likely to exceed 6,000 tonnes per annum by 2017 as per the report of the Working Group on Mineral Exploration and Development (Other than Coal & Lignite) for the XII Five Year Plan (2012-2017). There is a need for intensifying the exploration for identification of more Silver bearing resources from which Silver is recovered as a by-product.
Silver growth is only likely to increase in India in the coming years since India is growing very aggressively in the areas of Make in India, Digital India and Solar Energy. As compared to the world, India has been slow towards utilization of silver for industrial usage with mere 16%, as compared to global usage of 51%. Though we are growing in terms of utilization of Silver in jewelry and Silver-ware, the real boost will come with Digital India and development of domestic solar energy market where Silver will be used.