How an Indian CEO ran his first full marathon in a Swedish mine

Mining in India remains heavily shaped by environmental clearances, social expectations, and regulatory scrutiny. Projects move through multiple layers of approvals—from forest and wildlife permissions to geological assessment, land acquisition, and community consultations. Delays can stretch into years.

For companies, these uncertainties create operational and financial pressures that have little to do with geology or engineering.Hindustan Zinc, like others, has had to navigate this landscape while maintaining production targets. Public perception adds another layer. Modern metal mines bear little resemblance to the grim imagery of the past, storied in movies like Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Kaala Pathar, yet those images persist.

Misra points out that many Indians who comment on mining have never visited one. “The general perception is that mines are unsafe and hazardous,” he said. “But our underground mines have air-conditioning, digitised control rooms, Wi-Fi, and imported equipment.

You can do a video town hall one kilometre below the surface. Very few people know this.”He believes changing this perception is essential for the country’s future mineral requirements. India aspires to increase steel, aluminium, copper, and zinc production significantly in the coming decades, particularly to serve infrastructure and energy transition needs.

Mining is central to that plan. Misra often emphazises that mining and agriculture are the only two primary industries—everything else is derived from them. Urban consumers, he says, rarely relate their everyday electronics, appliances or infrastructure with their mining dependency.Events like the underground marathon—streamed globally and soon to appear in a documentary—offer an