V. M. Salgaocar e Irmao Ltda. was established in 1942 in Portuguese Goa by our late Founder Chairman, Mr. Vassudev M. Salgaocar. It was later renamed as V. M. Salgaocar & Bro. Pvt. Ltd. (VMSB) and went on to become India’s first vertically integrated mining operation spanning exploration, mechanised ore extraction, processing, multi-modal logistics and export capabilities.
Soon after the grant of mining concessions by the Portuguese Government in 1952, the Group exported its first consignment of 16,500 metric tons of iron ore to Nippon Steel Corporation, Japan. Eight years later, the first mechanical screening and loading plant was installed at the mines. The same year, VMSB achieved the export of 1 million tons of iron ore. To keep up with market demand and to promote operational efficiency, S S Sanjeevani, its first self-loading and discharging Transhipper vessel was commissioned in 1971 to load gearless vessels. The following year saw the Group export its first consignment of ore to POSCO (formerly Pohang Iron and Steel Co.) which was also the first cargo to be used in their new blast furnace at Pohang, South Korea.
In 1981, VMSB completed the installation of a Beneficiation Plant to promote sustainable mining practices. 1982 saw the commissioning of transhipper M. V. Swatirani to compete with Australian and Brazilian supplies.
Since the demise of our Founder Chairman in 1984, the Group has been under the able stewardship of his son, Mr. Shivanand V. Salgaocar. In 2006, VMSB commissioned the transhipper M. V. Goan Pride as a joint venture with V. S. Dempo & Co (now part of Vedanta Resources Limited).
In 2019, Prospect Mining Studio was launched in partnership with Newlab, USA to nurture companies disrupting the mining and mineral resource sector which supports startups of all stages as they build, pilot, and scale frontier technologies that will advance the natural resource and mining industries with a focus on sustainable and socially responsible solution