April 2, 2019
The deal marked the Malaysia government-run oil and gas firm’s foray into the international renewable energy space
Petronas acquired Amplus Energy Solutions from I Squared Capital, a New York-based global infrastructure investor
With a capacity of 500 MW under operation and development, M+ serves over 150 commercial and industrial customers
India is currently ahead of schedule in its target to set up additional renewable energy capacity of 175 GW by 2022
MOIL Ltd, India’s largest manganese producer, posted a record-high turnover of around US$210 million during financial year 2018-19, registering a growth of 9 per cent over the previous year. This was aided by a 9 per cent year-on-year jump in total production to more than 1.3 million tonnes or the highest in the last decade. The state-run company said that it also recorded the highest-ever output of non-fines manganese ore with sales of non-fines rising 13 per cent year-over-year to a record-high of 1.1 million tonnes. The cumulative output growth in the last three years is around 30 per cent.
Currently, MOIL controls 34 per cent of manganese ore reserves of the country and is contributing for 50 per cent of the total domestic production. The rise in the production has been aided by the company’s emphasis on expansion and modernization of its mines to sustain production levels and attain capacity enhancement. MOIL upgraded its mines at Chikla (Madhya Pradesh), Kandri (Maharashtra) and Balaghat (madhya Pradesh) during the year. MOIL is currently upgrading its mines at Ukwa (Madhya Pradesh), Munsar (Maharashtra), Balaghat (Madhya Pradesh) and Gumgaon (maharashtra).
Additionally, production activities was started during the year at Parsoda (Maharashtra) – the 11th mine of MOIL. Annual production at this mine will gradually increase to 40,000 million times. The company is also actively pursuing cases of prospecting and mining leases in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, mostly in areas adjacent to its existing mines. MOIL is currently targeting to double its production to 2.5 million tonnes by fiscal 2024-25. India currently produces more than 85 varieties of minerals, including four fuels, 10 metallic, 47 non-metallic, three atomic and 23 minor minerals.
Apart from the public-sector mining giants, the entry of private players have further boosted capacity in the space. The mining sector is critical to India’s economic and social development. Mining and quarrying currently contribute around 2.4 per cent of the national gross domestic product (GDP). Meanwhile, the latest figure on Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had shown a 2.9 per cent growth of the mining sector. Economic reforms, legislative amendments and rapid growth in consumption have propelled the Indian mineral industry into a competitive environment with calls for investment.