The ever smiling Gurudas Mustafi has pulled off yet another first of its kind. His company, the Kolkata based MBE Coal and Mining Technology (CMT) Private Limited has bagged the order for the first coal washery in Pakistan. MBE will provide the engineering drawings, the critical process equipment and the supervisory services to the process that is expected to cost between US$ 2.5 to US$ 3.0 million and is expected to go on stream in late 2013.
The BATAC jigging washery proposed to be set up by MBE CMT will have a one million ton per annum capacity (1 MTPA).
“Pakistan has the sixth largest coal reserves in the world, estimated at about 185.5 billion tons. It produces about 4.5 million tons annually with most of it being consumed by the cement industry and the brick kilns” said Mustafi. “The setting of this washery is a land mark project for the country as it would mean a paradigm shift giving it access to high grade washed coal with its attending benefits.” Needless to say, such a move augurs extremely well for Mustafi and his company which will naturally enjoy the prime mover advantage in the country.
There are other positive happenings in MBE CMT as well. The company’s centrifuge business is eliciting huge response from almost all the user industries. As a matter of fact, the last year was a watershed one for this division. As Mustafi says, eyes glistening with pride, “we received the highest number of orders and chalked the maximum number of dispatches last year.” No mean achievement, considering the fact that the economy is in a recession with virtually all new investments put on hold. “I would beg to differ on this one” says the forthright Mustafi, “as a matter of fact, there is a co-relation between the centrifuge business and our core business of beneficiation. When the mineral industry slumps, it has been noticed, that the demand for centrifuges go up. However, with environment becoming a chilling concern, the demand for them are expected to remain steady, even when the mineral industry rebounds, expectedly in the very near future.”
There is another growing trend, whose very mention makes Mustafi warm up, “Yes, he says, there is this distinct trend of our overseas partners looking at India as the manufacturing base for catering the growing demand from markets in Asia and Africa. The idea is to develop India as a global Engineering hub as we not only have the engineering prowess but are also extremely cost effective when it comes to offering engineering solutions on a global basis.” The Cologne based parents are said to be very keen on the arrangement and have noted their appreciation of the various projects that have already seen increasing collaboration around the world.
What’s next I ask the man, noted as one of the foremost experts in his domain, backed by the creators of the technology that dates back to almost two hundred years? “These are exciting times for our industry segment” he says, “optimal use of resources, is today the key factor which will drive further innovations and the introduction of newer technologies and processes. All I can say is that we will continue to be in the forefront of these advancements and will continue to engineer customized solutions for the specific needs of the clients. Solutions that are as unique as they are solid state.”