Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsB. Prabhakaran’s rise in Odisha began with a stalled mining contract, not a producing mine. In 2000, the contractor from Salem district arrived in Keonjhar with equipment and workers, only to find that forest clearance had not been secured. The way he turned that setback into an opportunity—by taking on more of the mining operation and tying his payment to ore-sale value—helps explain Thriveni Earthmovers’ rapid growth. A 2015 Scroll.in investigation also documented serious allegations about the company’s influence and role in some mines; those claims were disputed and should not be mistaken for settled legal findings.
From equipment contractor to mining operator
M. Rajshekhar’s 5 November 2015 investigation for Scroll.in traces Prabhakaran’s career from Salem district in Tamil Nadu. He studied computer science in Coimbatore and started Thriveni in 1994 after borrowing from family to buy an excavator. He learned equipment operation and maintenance on worksites, initially taking equipment-rental work and later handling broader mining assignments, including early work with Larsen & Toubro.
By 2000, Scroll reported, Prabhakaran was about 30 and had roughly 500 employees and 100 earthmoving machines. But projects had ended or gone to competitors, leaving him looking for work. He bid for an iron-ore mining assignment sought by Odisha Mining Corporation at a mine in Keonjhar. When he arrived, he found the mine could not begin operating because it lacked forest clearance. He later told Scroll that he had moved his equipment and family to Keonjhar and had no surplus to wait.
How the Keonjhar deal changed the business
Scroll describes a pivotal arrangement with local leaseholder R.P. Sao. The mine was producing about 0.7 million tonnes of iron lumps; Prabhakaran proposed raising output to 4 million tonnes and operating a crushing mill. Instead of charging only a fixed fee for each tonne raised, Thriveni would receive a share of the eventual sale value. Scroll reported an initial 40% share for the Sao arrangement and later agreements in a range of 35% to 42% of ore sale price.
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This model put Thriveni closer to the economics of the mine than a conventional equipment supplier. The contractor had to bring machinery, crews and operating capacity; payment varied with the value of ore sold. That could make a large, costly fleet viable for a leaseholder who did not want to buy and maintain it. It also meant the contractor’s share could be much larger than a fixed per-tonne mining charge, a distinction that became central to the later controversy.
Why leaseholders might outsource
Prabhakaran told Scroll that mine owners could not justify buying and maintaining a suitable fleet themselves. He described the arrangement as a practical response to the capital and operating demands of mining. D.R. Patnaik, husband of leaseholder Indrani Patnaik, said the contract was proper and that leaseholders set production targets and hired consultants for clearances. These are interview statements reported by Scroll, not independent determinations about every contract.
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What the reported figures show—and do not show
Scroll reported turnover of about Rs 90 crore in 2000 and roughly Rs 1,300 crore by 2015; elsewhere in the same article it gives Rs 1,336 crore for 2014. These are historical figures reported by Scroll, not audited current company financials. The contrast indicates the scale of the growth story the investigation set out to explain, but it does not establish the company’s present revenue.
Why Thriveni’s growth was disputed
Scroll’s account presents more than one explanation for Thriveni’s expansion. Prabhakaran pointed to mining competence, a large fleet, economies of scale, and local hiring and contracting that he described as earning a “social licence.” Other interviewees said administrative know-how and political relationships helped leaseholders secure clearances, and that local political influence encouraged mine owners to outsource work to Thriveni. These are competing explanations in the investigation, not proof that any one factor explains every contract.
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Scale and relationships are not mutually exclusive explanations: a contractor may have operational advantages while also benefiting from access and influence. The central question is what work the contractor actually performed, what risks it assumed, and whether its compensation reflected those services—or something beyond them.
What the Shah Commission and other sources alleged
Scroll reported that the Justice M.B. Shah Commission concluded that Thriveni’s role in some mines amounted to control by proxy and that it earned substantially more than normal ore-raising charges. The investigation also described Commission concerns about payments between Thriveni and subsidiaries associated with a leaseholder. These are findings and concerns as reported by Scroll; the available sources do not establish a final legal resolution of all the matters.
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As one illustration, Scroll attributed a figure of around Rs 674.50 per tonne at a 37% sale-price share to the Shah Commission report around 2008. The article also reported Commission figures of 524 million tonnes of declared iron ore mined in Odisha between 2004 and 2012. Scroll said undeclared mining also occurred, so the declared-production number should not be read as total production.
The investigation recorded other allegations as well. A 2011 letter from two Congress MLAs alleged that a mining mafia led by Sanatan Mahakud had taken control of more than ten mines in collusion with Thriveni. Scroll also reported that Prabhakaran denied operating mines by proxy and denied a DMK connection. The allegations, denials and Commission conclusions must remain attributed to their sources; none, by itself, establishes a final court outcome.
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How the company describes itself today
Thriveni’s own website describes a diversified mining business with operations and projects in India, Indonesia and Africa. It lists exploration, project execution, engineering, procurement and construction, development and operations, mineral processing, equipment refurbishment, logistics and marketing. These are company statements, not independent verification of current operating scale.
The company’s history page lists Odisha Mining Corporation and KJSA & Co among its 2004 engagements, Serajuddin & Co in 2010, and says it achieved 40 MTPA iron-ore production in 2019. That production claim is self-reported by Thriveni; it is not a current production figure.
What changed in the corporate structure in 2025
On 13 May 2025, the Competition Commission of India announced approval of a combination envisaging the demerger of Thriveni Earthmovers’ MDO business into Thriveni Earthmovers and Infra, followed by Lloyds Metals and Energy acquiring 79.82% of Thriveni Earthmovers and Infra. The CCI announcement and the Press Information Bureau release describe the transaction. The PIB explains that the MDO business includes services such as exploration, mine development, mining, processing and beneficiation, transportation, and logistics.
This official transaction update establishes the proposed corporate arrangement and its approved combination; it does not resolve the allegations documented in Scroll’s 2015 investigation. Nor does it provide a current independent account of Thriveni’s turnover or operating performance.
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