Rock production resumes after 5 months

Rock production at Maddhapara Granite Mining Company Limited (MGMCL) has resumed on Thursday after 140 days of closure due to the hit of Covid-19 infections across the country.

The authorities shut down the production of the mine on March 24 due to the coronavirus pandemic, said officials of MGMCL, a company of Petrobangla in Parbatipur upazila of the district.

Around 261 tonnes of rock have been produced in 24 hours after the resumption of the mine activities, they said.

It was learnt that the overall production was around 600 tonnes as of Saturday night, said the officials.

ABM Kamruzzaman, managing director (MD) of MGMCL, on Saturday said they started a test run on Thursday night as the mine remained shut down for nearly five months.

However, it would take more one month to start full speed production, operating three production shifts, he added.

Germania Trest Consortium (GTC) is the contracted company of the mine, said Kamruzzaman.

The mine has 800 local miners recruited by GTC, who returned to their work after 132 days on August 8. The miners were unpaid due to the production suspension.

The MD further said that Covid-19 test of the miners is going on, which is a lengthy process.

One hundred and sixty out of 800 miners joined in the production, he said.

More 150 local miners can join their work if their Covid-19 test reports come to hand, said the official.

It is possible to produce 5,500 tonnes of rock operating three shifts, said the officials of GTC and MGMCL.

Around 7.50 lakh tonnes of rock had been at the yard in March. MGMCL sold around 6.50 tonnes of rock till the date. The stock of the rock at the yard is now around 100,000 tonnes.

North Korean Company Namnam had developed the mine, spending Tk 1275 crore. It was started in 1994. With the end of development, the company started production in 2007.

Namnam was supposed to produce around 5,500 tonnes of rock daily, but the company never could attain the target. Later, MGMCL picked up GTC in September 2013 by floating tender and signed a contract. As per the contract with GTC, the company has to produce 9.2 million tonnes of rock in 6 years.

MGMCL handed over the mine to GTC on February 20 in 2014.

GTC even failed to produce half of 9.2 million tonnes in the last six years.  The contract ended on February 20 this year.

The officials of MGMCL have given a one-year contract extension to GTC to keep smooth production. Meantime, MGMCL has floated tender to pick up a new company for mine's operation, maintenance and production.