What can a single machine start? For B Prabhakaran, it started a career. He began his mining journey with one excavator at Thriveni Earthmovers, and more than three decades later he leads Lloyds Metals and Energy Ltd (LMEL) as Managing Director. Those early years taught him that mining is about building dependable operations and developing people. They also taught him that a business drawing on a region’s resources owes that region a lasting responsibility.
In 2018, he brought that belief to Lloyds Metals as Co-promoter and Managing Director, with a bold plan. He wanted an integrated, sustainable and future-ready mining and processing business, anchored in green practices. So where do you begin in a region full of promise like Gadchiroli? He began with people, then technology. A skilled local workforce and strong technical foundations came first, so that growth would open wider opportunities through downstream industries, local jobs and steady investment in skills, education and infrastructure.
The Scale of What Has Been Built
So how far has this plan travelled? Start with the ambition: Lloyds plans to invest ₹25,000 crore in Gadchiroli, anchored by an integrated steel plant, and a team of more than 17,500 people is already at work. On the ground, the mines and plants run at 26 MTPA for iron ore, 8 MTPA for pellets and 0.7 MTPA for sponge iron. The story also crosses oceans. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the company holds capacity of 32 KTPA for copper and 4 KTPA for cobalt, and copper cathode production began there in March 2026. And the next chapter is already taking shape, with 1.20 MTPA of WR/TMT and 3 MTPA of Hot Rolled Coil planned, while the company aims to reach 26 MT of iron ore production in FY27.
Behind these numbers is a story of more than 50 years. Lloyds commissioned one of the oldest DRI plants in Maharashtra and pioneered iron ore production in the state. In 2021, Thriveni Earthmovers joined as a co-promoter, adding its sustainable approach to this legacy, and the announced acquisition of the CHEMAF Group by Virtus Lloyds Minerals Holding is taking the company’s reach beyond India. Through it all, the purpose stays the same: growth that benefits not only the company but the nation at large.
Where the Real Growth Happens: Its People
But what is the most valuable asset in any plant or mine? Mr. Prabhakaran’s answer is not steel or ore. It is people. Growth lasts only when local people are ready to be part of it, so Lloyds built a place for every stage of life: a school for children, a hospital for families, a garment centre for women’s work and a skill academy for young people. In the spirit of Beti Padhao, women were educated and equipped, and simulator-based training now lets them learn to operate heavy vehicles safely before they ever take to the road. The result is easy to see. More than 3,000 of the 17,500 employees are women, and over 200 women from 32 villages have stitched around 40,000 garments in just nine months.
The biggest change, he says, is in outlook: local women and youth no longer wait for employment; they prepare for it. The skill academy has trained over 1,000 people across more than 30 trades, including 400 women, with 100% placements. Livelihood programmes have helped more than 350 farmers raise household income by 110%, and 2,500 students are enrolled under a free education and housing programme. More than 30 tribal youth are also studying in Australia with full sponsorship, because every child’s wish to learn deserves support.
Caring for Health, Caring for the Land
Strong futures need healthy families, so Lloyds brought quality healthcare closer to the communities it serves. The Lloyds Kali Ammal Memorial Hospital at Hedri is a 150-bed facility that offers free healthcare with a 24×7 ambulance service, and it has served over 2,76,290 beneficiaries. Care also travels to the people through more than 25 mobile health camps and over 497 institutional deliveries, along with eye check-ups, blood pressure screenings and other preventive services.
The same caring spirit extends to the land that supports all this. Can mining grow and still protect its surroundings? Lloyds is showing that it can. The 85 km slurry pipeline commissioned in 2025 reduces road transport, fleet electrification lowers emissions, and mined areas are restored. The company holds a five-star rating as a green mine and keeps investing in local roads, electricity, borewells and pond rejuvenation. Together, these efforts bring Mr Prabhakaran’s mission to life: a Gadchiroli where economic progress goes hand in hand with community development, and where the next generation can succeed in India and across the world.
