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TMI Blog2001 (9) TMI 167X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t by the appellants are that the sand is dredged from the sea beach and the sand slurry is subjected to spiraling and as a result the heavier minerals are separated. By this process about 80% of the lighter sand is eliminated, the remaining 20% are brought to the Mineral Separation Plant by pumping the slurry through pipe. There the individual minerals are separated by processes like drying electro-static separation, magnetic separation and gravity separations. The final recovery of minerals is less than 10% of the sand dredged from the sea of shore. 3. The findings of the Commissioner with regard to the excisability of goods is as under :- "3. The most important question which arises in this regard, whether the assessee had manufacture ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... they are normal to the preparation of the ores for extraction of metal. With the exception of changes resulting from calcination, roasting or firing (with or without agglomeration), such operations must not alter the chemical composition of the basic compound which furnishes the desired metal. The physical or physico-chemical operations include crushing, grinding, magnetic separation, gravi-metric separation, flotation, screening, grading, agglomeration of powder (e.g. by sintering or pelleting) into grains, balls or briquettes (whether or not with the addition of small quantities of binders), drying, calcination, roasting to oxidise or magnetise the ore, etc. (but not roasting for purposes of sulphating, chloridating, etc. )'. 4. From ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ineral sands of Ilmenite, Rutile, Zircon etc. from ordinary sand occurring on sea beach. The processes carried out are only physical and mechanical separation processes. At the end of the processes, the separated mineral sands had the same form and properties as they had while existing along with ordinary sand in the beach. No upgradation of purity of the mineral sands takes place during the processes. They have also contended that the mineral sands remained at the ore stage at the end of the processes i.e. the conditions in which they occurred along with ordinary sand. It has also been stressed that no upgradation or augmentation of their purity takes place as a result of the processes. At the end of processes, the mineral sands continued ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nature of the processes carried out but whether, as a matter of fact, concentrated ores have come into existence. He pointed out that the adjudicating authority has clearly come to the finding that the processes carried out by the appellants have led to the emergence of very high purity minerals. He referred to the observation in the order that the purity of goods in question, at the end of the processes was as under :- (1) Ilmenite : 97.5% (2) Rutile : 96.5% (3) Zircon : 97.0% (4) Garnet : 94.0% The ld. DR also pointed out the Commissioner's finding that removal of foreign materials have led to the manufacture of ore concentrates cannot ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... stos from asbestos rocks. In the earlier case of Minerals Metals Trading Corporation of India Ltd., the Apex Court held that the separating of wolfram ore concentrate from the rock to make it usable ore is a process of selective mining. It is not a manufacturing process. The important test according to the Apex Court is that the chemical structure of the ore should remain the same. Thus, the principle of law is clear that basic operations carried out to produce usable ore would not amount to manufacture of a new product. In the instant case, the appellants are carrying out certain physical and mechanical processes to separate mineral sands from ordinary sea shore sand. At the end of the processes, the mineral sands do not undergo any tran ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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