WORLD MININING CONGRESS & EXPO 2003

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The president of India Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam will inaugurate the 19^th World Mining Congress and Expo 2003 here on November 1, 03. This is the second time that India is hosting the 5-day Congress , the first mega event for the mining industry in the new millennium. The 12^th Congress was held in India in 1984. The theme of the Congress is "Mining in the 21^st Century-Quo Vadis".

Nearly 2000 delegates from more than 60 countries including Australia, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Iran, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia, South Africa, U.K. and USA will attend the event. Mineral rich States Like Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are participating on a large scale by involving their concerned organisations and industry.

The World Mining Expo 2003 is being concurrently held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi during November 1-5, 2003. State of the art technology in the field of mining, equipment, machinery from the world over will be on display at the Expo. International industrial giants in the field like Terex, Mining, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Eimco Elecon, FFE Minerals, Ingersoll Rand, Joy Mining, De Beers etc. are represented in the display.

The overseas presence of companies is complimented by domestic players like Coal India Ltd., Neyveli Lignite Ltd, Singareni Collieries Co. Ltd, ONGC, SAIL, Sterlite Group, Essar, Jindals, TISCO, NMDC and Voltas. The presence of Small Scale Units, supported by SIDBI- also an important segment of the Expo. It is expected that more than 50,000 visitors will interact at the 5 day Expo which may generate business worth Rs. 5,000 crore.