'MAULIK PATHAK Ahmedabad, 18 June Gujarat's Saurasthtra region seems to be turning into a hotbed of illegal bauxite exports. ' Senior officials in the Commisionerate of Geology and Mining Department fear that 10.5-11 million tonnes bauxite worth Rs 1,200 crore was illegally exported from the region in 2007-08 fiscal. On Wednesday, a team from Gandhinagar begun seizing bauxite at Okha port. "About 30,000 tonnes bauxite has been seized from the area today," said a department official. The operation is still on and this is only the tip of the iceberg, say officials. It was only in November 2007 that the government started making the process of issuing royalty on non-plant bauxite more stringent. Non-plant grade bauxite, which has less than 50 per cent alumina, is for exports, while the high-grade variety is used in ceramics, refractory and cement industries. Only one company has received permission to export {about 1.1 million tonnes) non-plant grade bauxite in the last one year, sources say. "While the government granted permission for exporting 1 million tonnes bauxite, more than 10 times has been exported from ports of Okha, Porbandar and Jodiya," said a senior government official. The freight-on-board (FOB) price of bauxite is $32, or about Rs 1,200, per tonne, say sources in the industry.