Mangalore youth will show WEF a way to make ore export more profitable

M Raghuram
Vivek Raj, 28, a resident of Mangalore, is among the youngest CEOs of a company that has the potential to become a billion-dollar one. His achievements have been recognised by the World Economic Forum. At Summer Davos in China between September 13 and 15, Vivek will brush shoulders with captains of industry from across the world. Leading lights from Pepsi, Airbus, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, Reliance and 100 other companies will be present at the meet. Raj is also scheduled to meet the Queen of Jordon, and the CEOs of Sinosteel, world’s largest steel importer, Nestle and the Chinese prime minister.
The young entrepreneur’s business model is sure to take leaders from core sector industries across the world by surprise. He has developed a formula to add value to low-grade (45 grade) iron ore, so that it is turned into high-grade ore (65 grade) with minimum wastage. “It makes perfect economic sense. All the countries are now looking at importing high-grade magnetite ore, but that is hard to come by. The prospecting for high-grade ore takes a lot of investment and funding, but it is the best way to transform low-grade ore into high-grade ore.”
“I have a technology product called benefaction of ore. This is a process of treating crude ores and mineral products in order to separate valuable minerals from waste rock or gangue. It is the first process that most ores undergo after mining, so that a concentrated material is obtained. The primary operations are called ‘comminution’ and ‘concentration’. I am planning to set up a plant in Goa. The government of Goa has already given me the initial permission to acquire land; this will be the first ore benefaction plant in the country.”  Vivek Raj further explained,“It does not make good economic sense to export raw ore. Benefaction of ore will help to create greater value for the produce, as it will be converted into high-grade ore. Crude ore is exported at Rs200 per tonne; if it is subjected to benefaction, it could be sold at Rs3,500 per tonne, which would still be at least 20% below the market rate. That would represent huge forex earnings.”
Such is this young man’s wisdom that he even has a plan for the by-product, ore slurry, which results from the benefaction. He would like to make bricks with the slurry that can be used in construction. Some costs incurred in the whole process will also be covered by the brick manufacturing process.
So how did the young man get into all this? “I come from a poor family. I started work when I was 14. After matriculation, I migrated to New Zealand with the help of a family friend. I studied for an MBA degree, and then took to export of New Zealand’s dairy produce to Sri Lanka. Later, I also started export of mining produce. Then I returned to India and set up Panama Group in Mangalore.”
But why Panama? “Was any ship ever stopped at the Panama Canal?” he asks with a sparkle in his eyes.
    m_raghuram@dnaindia.net