Photo: BSS

DINAJPUR, June 16, 2025 (BSS) - Madhyapara Granite Mining Company Limited (MGMCL) has extracted a record 13.92 lakh metric tons of stone over the last eight months, significantly surpassing its monthly extraction target.

"This is the highest-ever extraction volume recorded at Madhyapara hard rock mine," MGMCL Managing Director DM Jobayed Hossain told BSS.

He noted that under the second-phase agreement signed with the Germania-Trest Consortium (GTC) on September 3, 2021, the monthly extraction target was set at 1.24 lakh metric tons.

However, in the last eight months alone, GTC extracted an additional 4 lakh metric tons beyond the target.

Located at Parbatipur upazila in Dinajpur, Madhyapara is the country's only underground hard rock mine. 

The surge in extraction has helped MGMCL turn a profit and contributed significantly to saving foreign exchange by reducing the need for imports, mine officials said.

Mining activities have continued at a record pace, supporting national infrastructure development and socioeconomic progress. Industry experts believe that with the continued support from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and other concerned authorities, GTC can play an even greater role in national development.

The extracted stones from Madhyapara are primarily used in key infrastructure projects, including roads, railways, ports, and power sectors. Operated under Petrobangla, MGMCL is responsible for marketing the extracted stones.

According to mine estimates, Bangladesh's annual demand for stone has risen to approximately 2.16 crore tons. However, the Madhyapara mine currently contributes about 15 lakh metric tons annually, of which only 9 lakh tons are sold each year due to various logistical and market constraints.

Mine authorities said that multiple sizes of stones are being produced at the facility, including 0-5mm (stone dust), which is 15 percent, 5-20mm at 18 percent, 20-40mm at 5 percent, 40-60mm (blast size) at 34 percent, 60-80mm at 11 percent and bolder size at 17 percent.

Most of the construction works are used 8-12mm size of stone in the country, which is not produced by the Maddhapara mine, they said.

According to source, during the previous government's tenure, Bangladesh Railway relied on imported stone from India for mega projects, which led to a decline in the use of Madhyapara's blast stone and resulted in significant stockpiling.

To address this, MGMCL recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the West Zone of Bangladesh Railway, under which it supplied 30,000 metric tons of blast stone to the railway authority.

The source, however, said use of Madhyapara stone should be made mandatory in the river management projects, roads and highways department, bridges department, aviation sector, local government engineering department (LGED), public works, railways and water development board (PWDB), which will save foreign exchange and develop the mine properly.

As of May 31, a total of 12.32 lakh metric tons of stone were stored in the mine's yard. This included 7.80 lakh tons of blast stone and 4.52 lakh tons of boulders, primarily reserved for railway and river training projects.

In the past year, MGMCL sold 9,26,770 metric tons of stone, including 30,000 metric tons supplied to Bangladesh Railway.