According to reports in The Hindu Business Line, state-owned BEML Ltd is looking to get into the manufacturing of underground mining equipment. The defence public sector utility’s construction and mining vertical mostly manufactures open cast mining equipment. According to BR Viswanatha, Director, Mining and Construction, BEML, the plan is to use the now closed mining machinery facility of Mining and Allied Machinery Corporation (MAMC) in Durgapur for manufacture of the equipment.

The company has appointed SBI Capital Markets (SBICAP) to conduct a feasibility study on the same. MAMC, which had gone into liquidation, was taken over by a consortium of Coal India (CIL), Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) and BEML in 2010, with BEML holding a 48% stake, while DVC and CIL hold a 26% stake each.

“SBICAP is expected to come out with this report in the next two to three months. Based on that, we will take a call,” Viswanatha told The Hindu Business Line. “It is a huge facility. We had some plans earlier but it did not take off. We are hopeful that the report being prepared by SBICAP will come up with a viable plan,” Viswanatha is reported to have said.

BEML has already ventured into some underground mining products listing a side discharge loader, underground mine cruiser, LHD and Granby Car as part of its available range.