New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) NMDC on Saturday said it has signed a pact with IIT-Kharagpur for exploration of minerals using drones.
The MoU for ‘drone-based mineral exploration’ was signed virtually by the senior officials of NMDC and professors of IIT Kharagpur, the miner said in a statement.
NMDC, under the Ministry of Steel, is into exploration of wide range of minerals such as iron ore, copper, rock phosphate, limestone, magnesite, diamond, tungsten and beach sands etc.
NMDC CMD Sumit Deb said, “NMDC would be the first CPSE in India to conduct drone-based geophysical surveys and hyperspectral studies for mineral exploration in the country.” The tie up with IIT-Kharagpur, he said, will open a new chapter and set a benchmark in the field of mineral exploration for the nation.
NMDC is conducting exploration for various minerals in Madhya Pradesh and also in the Beloda-Belmundi block in Chhattisgarh for diamonds.
Under the pact, NMDC and IIT-Kharagpur would develop spectral products, methods and algorithms for exploration using drones for mining, the statement said.
The collaboration between NMDC and IIT-Kharagpur would further lead to the development of software spectral tools for mineral excavation and capacity building programmes on mining technology, it said. PTI ABI MR RUJ RUJ
