Bhubaneswar: Odisha Mining Corporation Ltd. (OMC) today successfully conducted the trial run of the Platinum Group Minerals (PGM) Pilot Plant at CSIR-IMMT, Bhubaneswar, for extraction of Platinum Group Elements (PGE) from ore of Bangur Chromite Mines, Keonjhar.

The successful trial marks a significant advancement in India’s pursuit of self-reliance in strategic minerals. PGEs—such as platinum, palladium, and rhodium—are vital for clean energy technologies, electronics, and automotive sectors.

The pilot plant has been developed under a ₹10 crore, two-phase R&D programme of Odisha Mining Corporation, in collaboration with CSIR-IMMT and Mintek South Africa. It aims to establish India’s first integrated PGE beneficiation and smelting facility.  This 1-tonne-per-hour pilot plant will now validate consistency and scalability of PGE concentrate under real-time operating conditions.

Insights from joint field studies conducted by OMC, Mintek, and CSIR-IMMT teams at Bangur Mines in October 2025 have been instrumental in shaping the pilot plant’s design and operations.

This milestone reinforces OMC’s commitment to innovation and positions Odisha as a leader in advanced mineral processing, while strengthening India’s critical mineral security.