With misclassification of different grades of minerals by mining leaseholders found to be at the root of illegal mining, the Union mines ministry has tightened the procedure to be followed by states for
The Supreme Court today lifted its ban on iron ore mining operations in Karnataka by companies which have not flouted lease conditions. A three-judge Forest Bench headed by Justice Aftab Alam accepted
Expert panel says effective checks and balances in place to ensure work in scientific manner Iron ore mining in Karnataka is set to restart with the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) on Thursday giving the green signal to ‘A category’ of mines in the State to resume operations, provided they have all approvals in place. In the report submitted to the apex court, the panel said a system of effective checks and balances has been put in place to ensure that mining takes place in a scientific manner. A total 18 mines come under category A, which recorded least irregularities or no irregularities, and of which one mine has all the approvals required.
Faced with stiff margins pressure in iron ore fines exports due to poor demand and higher transportation cost and taxes, most of the miners of the state are now planning to foray into pellet production to cater to the rising demand of the domestic steel industry for the commodity. “Iron ore fines exports have come down to a level that is a fraction of what it used be a couple of years ago. Fines were being shipped out as the Indian steel industry did not have the technology to use it.
Seeking a probe into illegalities in mining and export, the Supreme Court Thursday censured the Karnataka government for failure to check illegal export of iron ore from Belekeri port. A bench led by Justice
The Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up the Karnataka government for its failure to check large-scale illegal export of iron ore from Belekeri port in Karwar district. A three-judge Bench headed by Justice Aftab Alam also indicated that it may direct CBI probe into the illegal export of 35 lakh metric tonnes of iron ore and eight lakh metric tonnes of seized mineral from the port. The Bench directed the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to devise ways to “segregate” the case relating to illegal export in a manner which could speed up the investigation leading to early “conviction” of those guilty within six months.
Battalions of para-military forces will stand guard around the naxal-affected mines of India’s iconic Bhilai steel plant as government workers slog it out in the pits. Twelve battalions of BSF, anti-naxalite
Initiates steps to resolve teething problems and procedural delays The Karnataka government has initiated steps to resolve some of the teething problems and procedural delays coming in the way of smooth transportation of iron ore sold through e-auction by the monitoring committee. It has decided to issue round-the-clock transit permits to NMDC’s mines in Bellary district’s Donimalai. Besides, the government will continue to issue transit permits between 6 am and 10 pm for NMDC’s Kumaraswami mining lease in Bellary district.
Iron ore miner NMDC may announce a revision in the July-August contract price for the key input for steel-making at its board meeting scheduled on August 21. “The NMDC board at its meeting on August 13 did not take a call on iron ore price. It is meeting on August 21 again to consider the matter. It may revise the price,” a source close to the development said. On increased demand and lower availability, NMDC had raised the price of the raw material by eight-10 per cent for the April-June contract price.
Forest Bench says statutory clearance is a must The Forest Bench of the Supreme Court on Friday made it clear that no iron ore mining operations in Karnataka shall be permitted to resume unless there was statutory clearance for mining and till reclamation and rehabilitation was implemented in full. The Bench, comprising Justice Aftab Alam, Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Justice Swatanter Kumar, took the decision after the Central Empowered Committee in its August 16 report said “no further direction is required regarding sale of iron ore and/or resumption of mining operations by Category A mining leases.”
Over a third of operating mines in Goa are set to be closed due to a recent decision by the state government to levy a 15 per cent upfront stamp duty on the royalty paid by them. There are only 97 mines currently in operation out of 337 registered with the state government. Hence, around 70 per cent of registered mines are closed due to restrictions imposed by the state government following investigations by the M B Shah Commission inquiring into the legality of mines with required necessary permissions.
