The company has been accused of polluting two important rivers of Bastar namely Dankani and Shankani

Acknowledging that the iron ore project of National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) in South Bastar is causing contamination of rivers, Chhattisgarh government has ordered a survey of the af

Category B mines allowed to resume mining subject to necessary clearances

The forest bench of the Supreme Court has accepted all the reports submitted periodically by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) regarding the mining in Karnataka. As per the CEC reports, Category B mines will be allowed to restart mining subject to necessary statutory clearances. Already, the apex court has approved 18 Category A mines, of which 7 mines have started mining.

Dharwad-based NGO Jan Sangram Parishat (JSP) has urged the Union and the state governments concerned to accept and implement the report of the Western Ghats Expert Panel submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests on August 31, 2011.

JSP convenor S R Hiremath said here at the weekend that the report submitted by the panel headed by scientist Madhav Gadgil had come out with concrete steps to preserve and conserve the Western Ghats which was facing the threat of serious ecological imbalance.

The first ever advance e-auction, held on March 8, witnessed bidding for close to half a million tonnes of iron ore by large steel mills

Advance e-auction for NMDC's iron ore has started off on a promising note with steel mills lapping up the entire lot of iron ore fines put on auction last month. With the new system coming into place, the public sector miner has increased production of iron ore at two of its mines in Bellary district, giving much needed relief to steel mills.

The Chhattisgarh government has demanded that NMDC Ltd immediately start supplying iron ore to mineral-starved steel and sponge iron plants in the state and has threatened that if the state-owned m

Say it failed to make good on promises, including one related to the miner's growth

NMDC's sole foreign acquisition has hit a roadblock. A few shareholders in Australian company Legacy Iron Ore, acquired by NMDC in 2011, have sent it a notice, asking it to either fulfill the promises made during the acquisition, or leave. Speaking to Business Standard, a source close to the development said shareholders with at least 10 per cent stake in Legacy Iron Ore have threatened they would seek an extraordinary general meeting to vote out the three NMDC representatives from the Legacy Iron board.

Supreme Court-appointed CEC recommends new system in order to facilitate speedy supply of iron ore to steel mills

In an attempt to speed up supply of iron ore to steel mills, the central empowered committee (CEC) has decided to conduct advance e-auction of iron ore produced by state-run miner NMDC Ltd. The CEC, in consultation with company officials, has finalised a detailed structure for advance e-auction, which will come into effect from March 8.

The Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee, which is supervising the e-auction of iron ore in Karnataka, is likely to bring iron ore dumps for auction later this month. The committee is awaiting final approval from the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to auction about six million tonnes (mt) of dumps.

“The assessment of dumps in Bellary district has been completed and it is estimated that about six mt of dumps could be auctioned. The CEC recently visited various mines in Bellary district and took on record the dumps available for auction. However, the grading of dumps is still to be completed and once that is done, the ore could be put on auction,” sources close to the development told Business Standard.

After reducing the prices of iron ore for domestic steel mills in the October-January period, state-owned miner NMDC is considering a price rise in February.

The company’s board is likely to meet next week to decide on the issue. “The company has taken a policy decision to revise iron ore prices every month. In line with the policy, the board would meet early next week,” sources said. They added the rise could be between Rs 200 and Rs 400 a tonne and. It would be based on factors such as demand and supply, prices elsewhere and the recent rise in international prices, they said. In the past two months, prices of iron ore in the international markets have risen significantly. Currently, it is traded at $140-145 a tonne, about 61 per cent higher than in September.