OMC Conducts Successful Trial Run of PGM Pilot Plant in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Mining Corporation Ltd. (OMC) has successfully conducted the trial run of a Platinum Group Minerals (PGM) pilot plant at CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (CSIR-IMMT) in Bhubaneswar. The facility is designed to extract Platinum Group Elements (PGEs) from ore sourced from the Bangur Chromite Mines in Keonjhar district.

The development marks a significant step in India’s push for self-reliance in critical and strategic minerals. PGEs, including platinum, palladium, and rhodium, are essential for clean energy technologies, electronics, and the automotive sector.

The pilot plant has been developed under a Rs 10 crore, two-phase research and development programme undertaken by OMC in collaboration with CSIR-IMMT and Mintek, South Africa. The initiative aims to establish India’s first integrated facility for PGE beneficiation and smelting.

With a processing capacity of one tonne of ore per hour, the pilot plant will now validate the consistency and scalability of PGE concentrate under real-time operating conditions.

Officials said that insights from joint field studies conducted by teams from OMC, Mintek, and CSIR-IMMT at the Bangur Mines in October 2025 played a key role in shaping the design and operations of the plant.

The milestone highlights OMC’s focus on innovation in mineral processing and is expected to position Odisha as a leader in advanced mineral technologies, while strengthening India’s critical mineral security.