Bengaluru: The Sandur Manganese & Iron Ores Limited (‘SMIORE’ or ‘the Company’), one of the leading private sector metals & mining players, has been honoured with the distinguished Seven Star Rated Mine award in recognition of our outstanding efforts and best practices in green mining by the Ministry of Mines, Indian Bureau of Mines, for its exemplary performance during the year 2023-24. The award ceremony took place at the Rajasthan International Centre, Jaipur, on 7 July 2025 as part of the national event to felicitate Five Star and Seven Star Rated Mines of India.
The award has been instituted by the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM). The Seven Star Rating was presented by Shri Bhajanlal Sharma, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Rajasthan, in the esteemed presence of Shri G. Kishan Reddy, Hon’ble Union Minister of Coal and Mines.
SMIORE is the only mine from South India and the first among the three selected Seven Star Rated Mines in the country. Additionally, acknowledging its commitment to sustainable development at its Kammathuru Iron Ore Mine in Sandur Taluk, Ballari District the company has been awarded the Five Star Rating for the year 2023–24. The mine spans an area of 1,860.10 hectares.
These awards, instituted by the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), aim to promote sustainable mining and recognize exemplary practices that set new benchmarks while meeting key performance parameters.
Bahirji A. Ghorpade, Managing Director, SMIORE, expressed his pride and gratitude: “A decade of excellence and recognition by the fraternity reinforces our commitment to sustainable development, environmental stewardship, safety, technological innovation, and community engagement in the areas we operate. We strive to safeguard the social, economic, and environmental welfare of present and future generations. I am immensely proud of our team, who have consistently delivered excellence in this critical facet of our operations. Their dedication is evident in SMIORE’s remarkable achievement of the prestigious Five Star Rating each year since its inception — a distinction that has now culminated in the highest honour of the Seven Star Rating. I congratulate our team for leading the new way of mining and setting new benchmarks.”