Runaya was formed in 2017 to diversify away from core commodities with the vision to deploy cutting edge technology in the manufacturing sector in India.
The Group comprises two companies:
• Runaya Refining – RRL is focused on technology-enabled sustainability initiatives and is only the second end-to-end zero waste aluminium facility in the world
• Runaya Metsource – is into manufacturing premium products through highly innovative processes and advanced technologies and partnering with international leaders to convert India from a technology importer to a technology exporter in the resources sector. Starting out with an initial capital of about $50 million, Naivedya’s maiden business venture Runaya Metsource focuses on material sciences and high-technology applications through global alliances and partnerships.
Runaya currently has 4 operating sites at Jharsuguda, Bhilwara, Dariba and Silvassa and is headquartered at Mumbai. Recently, Runaya has signed a joint venture (JV) pact with Minova, a wholly owned division of Australia-based Orica, to manufacture niche products for the mining sector.
Two highly impressive ventures. Something that was much-needed for a long time. How did the concept come about?
The vision was to deploy cutting edge technology in the manufacturing space in India. This, coupled with our passion to conserve the environment and create sustainable solutions, made us realize the importance of technology and innovation in the modern-day resources and manufacturing space.
The process used for identification of the businesses was broad criteria around the space in which we wanted operate (stay in manufacturing) and then we used filters like global alliances and partnerships with the best technology available, broad investment criteria, B-2-B supply chain, value added manufacturing instead of commodity products, and operations that have highest standards of sustainability and environment.
Using these and a few other filters we arrived at a shortlist of 6-7 projects to pursue, of which we have gone ahead with 4 projects and another 3 are in the pipeline where technology partnerships are being tied up.
These 4 projects are:
*A sustainability and metal recovery project which is currently already operating in Orissa where a 100% of Aluminium Dross is processed.
*Runaya’s Joint Venture with Minova, which is part of AUD 6 billion Orica group
*Recovery of Minor Metal such as Cadmium, Antimony, Bismuth which are found in the mining supply chain of Copper, Silver, Zinc.
*High technology product of Fiber Reinforced Plastic rods which find applications in the telecommunication industry including Fiber Optic Cables.
The technology that is implementing waste at refineries. What was happening earlier and what has changed?
The world produces ~65 million tons of aluminium per annum currently, which results in ~1 million ton of aluminium dross being produced every year. Dross is the worthless by-product from aluminium smelting, and the world is yet to find a comprehensive solution for its disposal. Current technology can process a maximum 50% of the dross resulting in over 0.5 million tons of dross ending up in landfills. This is a major problem facing our environment from just the aluminium industry. The mining and metal processing industry annually generates ~174 billion MT of waste. The environmental impact of this waste is a global problem that needs to be addressed on priority.
Runaya has implemented an innovative and sustainable model, which is a first in India, to eliminate waste and recover metal through a patented cutting-edge technology – a 3-stage process (hot processing, cold processing, and slag conditioning) to process the mining waste and maximize metal recovery. Through this technology, which ensures 100% utilization of waste, we are striving to disrupt the resources industry – currently even the best practices in the industry can only process 50% of waste.
Vedanta has taken all possible steps to be sustainable. I have been to the Jharsuguda plant. You are promoting a circular economy. Please expand.
Runaya’s technology-enabled sustainable solutions for mineral waste processing helps to convert “waste to wealth”, thereby promoting a circular economy that is restorative by design.
Runaya’s breakthrough approach delivers significant positive impact for the mining and metals industry. In case of aluminium dross processing:
*It reduces waste by recovering more metal through processing – 40% of scrap is converted back to aluminium metal
*It achieves zero waste and zero discharge – the final residue is then used to manufacture briquettes which are sold as a premium raw material for the steel industry.
At Runaya, we are really excited to partner with Vedanta and usher in a revolution for the resources sector in more ways than one.
Runaya Metsource – What are some of the premium products you look at manufacturing?
Minova-Runaya, a joint venture between Runaya Metsource and Minova International, is coming up with a plant in Bhilwara, Rajasthan. The project is in its final stages with expected commissioning in January 2021 and will manufacture products including rock bolts, resin capsules, injection chemicals, wire mesh and high-quality ventilation systems. These ground support products will deliver transformational enhancements in safety standards across mining, infrastructure and tunnelling applications.
The other manufacturing project currently underway is the high technology product of fibre reinforced plastic rods which find applications in the telecommunication industry including Fiber Optic Cables. This plant is coming up at Silvassa and the bulk of the production will be for global markets. Our current capacity to be installed is 1million kilometers. This project is also in its final stages with commissioning in December.
The global alliances that you are looking at. Could you tell us more about this?
We already have a partnership with Australian ground support services company Minova International and have formed a joint-venture to bring cutting-edge technology solutions to Indian and international mining and infrastructure sectors. The joint-venture, Minova Runaya Pvt. Ltd (MRPL), will combine Runaya’s project and manufacturing capabilities with Minova’s technical expertise and global reach, to manufacture and supply ground support products.
We also have a technological tie-up with TAHA International S.A (Luxemburg) for our aluminium dross project currently.
In terms of our projects, all of them have been executed with strict adherence to project timelines, budgets, with best in class project execution partners including Tata Projects, Deloitte and KMF from Austria.
The JV with Minova to manufacture niche products for the mining sector. How would that boost mining?
We believe that our joint venture with Minova for our ground support solutions business can be disruptive for the mining, tunnelling and infrastructure industries in the country and will change the entire landscape of safety standards and performance in these sectors. For instance, in our Ground Support systems business, our products improve safety performance through a Zero Rate of Failure and our Polymeric resins have a quick drying mechanism that has helped improve productivity in mine and tunnel development by 25% in our customers.
We see a huge opportunity here for the mining sector, particularly with the opening up of the sector for all minerals including coal.