Sustainability in Mining & Metal

Knowledge Bank | Social and Sustainability |

The Indian economy relies significantly on the metal industry, which caters to diverse sectors like engineering, electrical and electronics, infrastructure, automobiles, packaging, and more. The metal sector encompasses two main divisions: ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals. Ferrous metals, predominantly iron and various steel types, contribute to India’s impressive steel industry performance, driven by growth in construction and automobile sectors. In recent years, India has emerged as a notable steel producer globally. Non-ferrous metals, including aluminium, copper, zinc, lead, nickel, and tin, serve various applications such as alloys, castings, forgings, and wires across agriculture, power plants, automobiles, telecommunications, and more.

India imports metals like copper, lead, and zinc as concentrates for further processing by secondary smelters. Nickel and tin are additional imports into the country. This report narrows its focus to four primary metals: iron (steel), aluminium, copper, and zinc, within the expansive metal industry.

Metals, constituting a significant portion of naturally occurring chemical elements on Earth, hold immense value as materials, particularly in terms of sustainability. The Non-Ferrous Metals (NFM) industry encompasses a multitude of productive activities across the value chain, including mining, smelting, recycling, refining, and downstream fabrication.

Within the NFM industry, several sub-sectors emerge:

Base metals (aluminium, copper, zinc, lead, nickel, tin)
Precious metals (silver, gold, palladium, other platinum group metals)
Minor metals, including refractory metals (e.g. tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum, niobium, chromium)
Specialty metals (e.g. cobalt, germanium, indium, tellurium, antimony, gallium)
Among these, aluminium stands out as the fastest-growing non-ferrous metal in India. The country ranks fourth globally in aluminium production, trailing China, Australia, and Brazil. In FY17, primary aluminium production reached 2.9 million tonnes. This report delves into the nuances of this dynamic metal industry, exploring its role in the broader economic landscape and its impact on sustainability and mining practices.

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About Consultivo

Consultivo is a management advisory and consulting firm helping global businesses in the areas of Sustainability, Business Excellence & Risk Management – both in strategic and operational levels.

Consultivo research and analytics wing works on industry, society and community oriented research programs on ESG, Sustainability and business risk in both qualitative and quantitative fields.

As an Independent and leading CSR Consultant in India, Consultivo offers CSR Strategy Consulting, Baseline and Need Assessment, Stakeholder Mapping and Engagement, CSR Project Monitoring and Evaluation, CSR Impact Assessment, SROI Assessment and CSR Communication Reporting.

About Indian Chamber Of Commerce (ICC)

The Indian Chamber of Commerce, or ICC as it is popularly known, is the premier body of business and industry in India. The membership of the Chamber comprises several of the largest corporate groups in the country, with business operations all over the country and abroad.

One of the most pro-active Chambers in India, the ICC has been privileged to interact and host several of the esteemed Indian Presidents and Prime Ministers in the past.

With over eighty years of service to the nation, the ICC retains the character of being the premier Chamber with senior Indian industry leaders forming the core of its Executive Committee or the Governing Board of the Chamber.