KMML has sought assistance from the Tamil Nadu government to obtain Union government’s approval for sand mining in Tamil Nadu and for the allocation of land
| Photo Credit: C. SURESHKUMAR
Kerala and Tamil Nadu are collaborating on a strategic initiative to extract mineral sand from the Tamil Nadu coastline and process it into value-added products. In the preliminary discussions between Industries Ministers of both the States the possibility to integrate the resource availability in Tamil Nadu with the technical expertise of Kerala was explored.
Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (KMML) had assessed that the projects proposed for obtaining ilmenite, the raw material for manufacturing titanium dioxide, from Tamil Nadu will be profitable. Tamil Nadu has put forward a proposal that the mining and value addition should take place exclusively within the borders of Tamil Nadu. This strategic partnership aims at boosting the production capacity of both States.
KMML has sought assistance from the Tamil Nadu government to obtain Union government’s approval for sand mining in Tamil Nadu and for the allocation of land. For this purpose, KMML also requested the formation of a joint venture with Tamil Nadu Minerals Limited (TAMIN), a government agency of Tamil Nadu. According to officials, Tamil Nadu government agreed in principle to this proposal and will proceed with the necessary follow-up actions. They added that if this venture succeeds, it will be a significant asset for the Public Sector Undertakings in Kerala including KMML and Travancore Titanium Products Ltd (TTPL).
Along with Industries Minister P. Rajeeve and his Tamil Nadu counterpart T.R.B. Rajaa, the meeting was attended by the principal secretary of Kerala Industries department, A.P.M. Mohammed Haneesh, secretary of Tamil Nadu Industries department, V. Arun Roy and other officials. Representing KMML, managing director P. Pradeepkumar and head of the mineral separation plant T. Karthikeyan participated in the discussion.
In addition to mineral sand mining, cooperation in areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled governance, EV (Electric Vehicle) ecosystem, tourism, and technology were also discussed.
Published – December 02, 2025 04:59 pm IST
