MYSURU: BJP leader K S Eshwarappa on Sunday demanded the cancellation of iron ore mining lease to 10 companies. He said that the party will not keep quiet till chief minister Siddaramaiah does not withdraw
PANJIM: Fresh investigation by State government has revealed that as of now 14 mines are involved in various kinds of illegalities, including encroachment outside their lease areas. According to the details tabled in the House, 14 mining lease holders are either involved in illegal extraction or encroachment outside the mining lease. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday told the house that the investigation to nail the illegalities as pointed by the Justice M B Shah Commission is under way.
PANJIM: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said that if the Supreme Court modifies or vacates its earlier order suspending mining operations in the State, Goa government will permit legal mining to start within six to eight weeks. He, however, informed that the case filed by Claude Alvares, in the Apex Court which then passed the ad-interim stay on mining in October last year, has not yet come up for hearing.
Aiming to expedite disposal of applications for renewal of mining leases, the steel & mines department has rejected 135 such applications of a total of 323 applicants. “We have already rejected 135 applications for mine lease renewal. These applications did not merit renewal as they lacked the necessary statutory clearances. The department is making all efforts to dispose off pending applications in accordance with the directive of the Odisha High Court,” said an official source.
Now, environmental clearances have to be sought two years in advance PANJIM: The Centre’s directive that all mining leases, due for renewal, have to apply for environmental clearance two years in advance of the expiry of the lease, could further complicate matters for the mining industry, as a majority of the mines in the State are up for renewal. The State government has started the process of renewal of leases after the deemed renewal regime was practiced for so long.
Sale price at Rs 5,600/tonne compared to raising cost of Rs 600 The All Odisha Steel Federation (AOSF), a body representing the interests of local steel units and sponge iron manufacturers, has stepped up the ante on mine owners, accusing them of making huge profits by selling iron ore to end use industries at exorbitant prices. AOSF held that after the notification of the state steel & mines department dated December 5 last year that made selling of at least 50% of their ore to local industries compulsory, two lessees- Sirajuddin and Indrani Patnaik had offered ore for sale to such units.
The inter-ministerial committee of the Odisha government constituted to formulate a policy for offering raw materials to state based industries will seek more time for submission of its report. Though the panel was mandated to submit its report by January 30, exactly three months after the notification dated October 30 last year, it was yet to finalize the report.
Company aims to produce 10 million tonnes of iron ore per annum in the first phase from the proejct Vedanta group firm Sesa Goa has finalised the capital expenditure plan for its Liberian iron ore mining project and plans to begin shipments from it from February 2014, a top company official said. The company is aiming to produce 10 million tonnes of iron ore per annum in the first phase from Liberia's Western Clusters project, which it had acquired in two phases for about $123.5 million (about Rs 595 crore).
According to a top company official, JSW Steel is trying to feed its blast furnaces with the most inferior raw material for the first time JSW Steel, which is facing severe shortage of iron ore for its 11-million tonne Vijaynagar steel plant in Bellary district, is planning to experiment with very low-grade and inferior quality ore having iron (Fe) content between 40 and 50 per cent. The company has so far used ore with Fe content up to 52 per cent. Now, for the first time it is trying to feed its blast furnaces with the most inferior raw material, a top company official said. The company is currently operating its Bellary plant at 68 per cent capacity due to poor supply of iron ore.
Odisha-based Geomin Minerals, which has been locked in a legal battle with Korean giant Posco for an iron ore prospecting licence in the Kandadhar mines in Sundergarh district, on Wednesday opposed a Supreme Court move to ask the Centre to make an assessment of all potential contenders for the licence. The company had first challenged the Odisha government’s recommendation to allot the prospecting mining licence to Posco in the High Court, which cancelled the mine and asked the state to conduct the exercise afresh. Both Geomin and Posco then moved the HC against the decision.
With collusive bidding by the "mining mafia" thwarting Punjab Government's attempts to auction 13 sand quarries in the state, the government has decided to re- auction these.The government also proposes to make amends in the mining policy to ensure that the re- auction sails through. After the Punjab Cabinet approves the re-auction of the quarries at a Cabinet meeting scheduled for January 28, the Punjab Industries Department proposes to increase the earnest money to be deposited for participating in the auction, raise the reserve price of each of these quarries and have a say in calling off the auction without assigning any reason, in case collusive bidding is suspected.
