WCL CMD conferred Eminent Engineer Award at mining convention

New Delhi: Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL) CMD Dr Hemant Sharad Pande has been conferred with the Eminent Engineer Award by the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the 36th National Convention of Mining Engineers held in Nagpur on Thursday.

The two-day convention, organised by the Nagpur Local Centre of The Institution of Engineers (India), was inaugurated by Fadnavis in the presence of Maharashtra Minister of State Ashish Jaiswal.

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The award was presented to Pande in recognition of his contributions to mining engineering and the mining industry.

Addressing the convention, Fadnavis highlighted Vidarbha’s mineral potential, particularly the iron ore reserves in Gadchiroli. He said investments of around Rs 5 lakh crore and steel-making capacity of nearly 50 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) are being developed in the region. He also noted that four of the first eight coal-gasification projects awarded under the new national mission are located in Vidarbha.

Pande said Nagpur should be developed as the mining capital of India, which was one of the key ideas behind organising the convention. He said WCL has identified 18 critical minerals and rare earth elements across 12 mines and is diversifying beyond coal into critical mineral exploration and purification.

He also called for transforming Vidarbha from a resource-rich region into a value-added and high-income resource hub. Pande highlighted the proposed coal-gasification hub at Majri and initiatives linked to Make in India, Production Linked Incentive (PLI), Start-up India and Skill India.

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Pande further outlined WCL’s focus on water conservation, environmental sustainability and ecotourism.

Delivering the Prof. S K Bose Memorial Lecture, Pande discussed responsible mining, environmental protection, adoption of advanced technologies, conversion of mine waste into productive opportunities, critical minerals and rare earth elements, coal gasification, land repurposing and commercial bamboo plantations.

He also outlined the future of mining in the context of Viksit Bharat 2047, with greater adoption of artificial intelligence, robotics and real-time monitoring technologies.

WCL Director (HR/Finance) Bikram Ghosh made a presentation on the company’s history, initiatives, achievements, future plans and contribution to national development.

A total of 34 technical papers being presented during the two-day convention.

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