The Indian Bureau of Mines states that 23690 thousand tons, 3971 thousand tons, 4135 thousand tons, 38437 thousand tons, 1079 thousand tons, 566 thousand tons, 39030 thousand tons, 206494 thousand tons, and 4889 tons of bauxite, chromite, copper ore, diamond, fluorite, gold ore, graphite, iron ore, and kyanite, respectively, were mined in India in the financial year (FY) 2018–2019. Further, the Census Economic Information Center (CEIC) reveals that 4,324,215,796.000 metric tons of minerals were produced in China in December 2019.
Additionally, the liberalization of mineral policies and rapid technological advancements in the mining sector will also facilitate the consumption of lubricants globally. Owing to these reasons, mining companies will consume a significant volume of mineral oil lubricants, bio-based lubricants, and synthetic lubricants for bauxite mining, coal mining, iron ore mining, precious metals mining, and rare earth mineral mining. The aforementioned lubricants are used for the proper functioning of the engine, hydraulic, gear, and transmission equipment.
In the coming years, the largest quantity of such lubricants will be used in the coal mining sector due to the rising need for mining equipment in this industry and burgeoning demand for coal for power generation in emerging economies, such as India, China, and Indonesia. For instance, the Ministry of Power under the Government of India states that coal consumption in thermal power plants of the country increased from 690.246 million tons in FY 2017–2018 to 707.387 million tons in FY 2019–2020.
In contemporary times, the mining industry uses lubricants produced by Schaeffer Manufacturing Co., Blue Star Lubrication Technology LLC, BP PLC, D-A Lubricant Company Inc., Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Busler Enterprises Inc., Chevron Corporation, Total S.A., and Exxon Mobil Corporation for mining and quarry applications. Presently, companies, such as Chevron Corporation, BP PLC, and Exxon Mobil Corporation, are focusing on imparting knowledge about brands among consumers through print and visual media, to reach out to a greater number of end users.
Globally, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region dominates the lubricants market for mining and quarry applications, wherein China consumes the highest volume of such lubricants. Furthermore, the European region is led by Russia, whereas, North America is dominated by the U.S. Additionally, in the Middle East and African (MEA) region, Saudi Arabia uses the maximum quantity of lubricants for mining and quarry applications due to the presence of numerous oil fields in the country.
Thus, the increasing mining activities in developing countries and liberalization of mining policies will result in the large-scale consumption of lubricants for mining and quarry applications in the forthcoming years.