With a latest report projecting the country's mining industry to touch over $30 billion (about Rs 1,27,662 crore) accounting for about 2.5% of the GDP in the next four years, pertinent questions still remain if the sector can live up to the hype and noise of its potential. "Considering India's mineral resources, we believe there is strong potential for further development and scaling up of the country's mining industry. We believe that the mining industry could grow to $30 billion plus by FY'12 and reach 2.5% of GDP, if India develops a conducive regulatory framework and attracts significant investment in exploration, mine development and infrastructure,' a report by financial services firm Edelweiss stated. The report on metals and mining pointed out that India has immense natural resources and is ranked among the top 10 countries for deposits in iron ore at 25.2 billion tons (BT), coal 257.4 BT and bauxite 3.3 BT, which constitute 3%, 10 %, and 4% respectively of the world's resources. The country also holds the leading position globally in mica (No 1), barytes (No 2), chromite (No 4), kaolin (No 4), and manganese (No 7), the report said. "These are significant numbers and imply that India has the potential to develop a scaled-up, world class mining industry. Some progress has been made and in iron ore for instance, India ranks third amongst various exporting countries,' it said. However, despite such rosy picture, all does not augur well for the sector. The vast mineral resources of the country are a magnet for any potential investors. On the same vein most of these minerals are under the most biologically diverse forest and some of the poorest areas in the country. A report from the centre for science and environment (CSE) said enamoured by the mining industry's promises of progress, Indian planners and lawmakers have accomplished the process of extracting minerals with clinical and brutal precision. "Forest are razed, waterways polluted and clogged, farmlands transformed into wasted tracts and mining dust hangs heavy in the air. As for the people, they are summarily evicted, with little promise or prospect of compensation or rehabilitation,' said CSE. An estimated 1.64 lakh ha of forest land has been diverted for mining in the country. The forests in districts like Jaipur in Orissa, Dhanbad in Jharkhand and Bardhman in West Bengal have been decimated by mining. The Edelweiss report said the proposed National Mineral Policy and the allotment of captive coal blocks (in effect opening up the nationalised coal sector) are the key triggers for future development of mining in India. The ongoing bull-run in minerals has created enormous wealth for investors. Market cap of the leading global mining Companies has increased at a compound annual growth rate of 39% per annum from 2001 to 2007, while the corresponding figure for top Indian miners is a whopping 139% per annum. "As the Indian mining industry scales further, we see both new and existing mining players offering significant wealth creation opportunities to investors,' it said. CSE also said that most of the views on the mining industry are lopsided and decades of such view of