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IIT Kharagpur, NMDC Signed MoU for drone based mineral exploration

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Polity & Governance
  • Published
    22nd Mar, 2022

Context

The country's largest iron ore producer, NMDC Ltd, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for drone-based mineral research with IIT Kharagpur.

Key-points

  • National Mineral Development Corporation (NDMC) and IIT Kharagpur will collaborate to create spectrum products, methodologies, and algorithms for drone (UAV) mining exploration.
  • The collaboration will also lead to the development of software spectral tools for mineral excavation and mining technology capacity-building programmes.
  • From the reconnaissance G4 level to the detailed G1 level of UNFC, NMDC has been exploring minerals for over six decades for a variety of minerals such as copper, rock phosphate, limestone, magnesite, diamond, tungsten, and beach sands, among others.
  • Drone-based Geophysical Surveys and Hyperspectral Studies for Mineral Exploration would be conducted by NMDC for the first time in India.
  • NMDC’s collaboration with IIT-Kharagpur will usher in a new era in mineral discovery for the country.
  • NMDC is exploring for various minerals in Madhya Pradesh as well as diamonds in the Beloda-Belmundi block in Chhattisgarh.
    • It is also the first CPSE in the central Indian diamond province to use space geophysics, as well as the first to use online monitoring of data exploration on the BHUVAN platform.

About National Mining and Development Corporation (NMDC)

  • NMDC is the largest iron ore producer in the country.
  • It produces Copper, Rock Phosphate, Limestone, magnesite, Diamond, Tungsten, and Beach sands. 
  • NMDC conducts exploration in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
  • It is the first PSU in the country, which will conduct geophysical surveys and hyperspectral studies for mineral exploration by drone based technology.
  •  It is the first PSU in the country which will use online monitoring of exploration of data on the BHUVAN Platform.
    • ISRO launched the web based Geographic information system tool BHUVAN portal on 12 August 2009.
  • It will also be the first to use Space Geophysics.

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