Indian mines ministry against iron ore export duty hike

Sunday, 15 Jan 2012

PTI reported that mines ministry has expressed reservation over Finance Ministry's decision to increase export duty on the low grade iron ore in the country.

Mr AK Srivastava additional secretary ministry of mines on the sidelines a conference told reporters that "The Mines Ministry is not favourably inclined towards increase in the export duty.” He said the ministry has already written to the government about their views, which might be considered during Budget.

Mr Srivastava said that "There is always a budget. The final call on the hike would be taken during budget adding that there is always a possibility that central government might revisit it during the presentation of Budget.”

Mr Srivastava said at least low grade ores, which are not consumed by the steel industry, should be spared from the hike. He added that "If export duty is increased on high grade, the low grade ore should be allowed to continue with the earlier duty.”

The mines industry in Goa had expressed their concern over increased hike, which according to them, would spell doom on their already troubled trade.

The export duty was hiked from 20% to 30% from December 30, 2010 onwards by the Finance Ministry in order to channelise the Iron ore to Indian steel industries.

(Sourced from PTI)

Over 82000 illegal mining cases in 2010

Tuesday, 16 Aug 2011

Illegal mining activities witnessed a sharp spike in India during 2010, with 82,330 cases detected by law enforcement agencies during the year, almost double the 41,578 cases unearthed in 2009.

Mines Minister Mr Dinsha Patel informed the Rajya Sabha that the rate of illegal mining appears to be accelerating, as government agencies detected as many as 24,405 cases in the first three months (January to March) of 2011, almost 30% the number of such activities seen in the whole of 2010.

In his reply, Mr Patel said that in 2010, the highest number of illegal mining cases were reported in Maharashtra, at 34,384, which accounted for about 41.64% of the cases registered across the nation during the year. The number of cases detected in Maharashtra in 2010 was 4.14 times the number seen in 2009, when 8,270 cases were reported.

However, he did not specify the minerals for which large scale illegal mining activities were taking place.

Illegal mining activities in Karnataka, which is under the Supreme Court scanner, have risen by 2.93 times, with 4,949 cases reported in 2010, as against 1,687 such incidents in 2009.

Similarly, other mineral rich states like Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have also reported a huge rise in illegal mining cases, reporting 17,882 and 2,942 cases, respectively, in 2010. These are about 1.54 times and 2.72 times higher than the 2009 figures for the respective states.

Data provided in Mr Patel's reply showed that the above four states accounted for almost 73% of the illegal mining cases lodged in 2010, at 60,057.

It further said that illegal mining activities have been continuously rising and between January and March this year, with 10,349 cases detected in Maharashtra alone, about 30% of the total number of cases reported in 2010.

Moreover, Karnataka reported 1,263 illegal mining cases between January and March this year, 25% of the 2010 figure for the state.

Similar stories have been reported in Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where 4,594 and 923 illegal mining cases were detected in the first three months of 2011.

(Sourced from ET)

Mining licence and lease in India under MMDR Act 1957

Sunday, 14 Aug 2011

Mr Dinsha Patel minister of state for mines informed the Lok Sabha that all mineral concessions, including Prospecting Licence and Mining Leases for minerals are required to be granted in terms of the provisions of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and the Rules framed thereunder. In case of minerals in the First Scheduled to the MMDR Act, 1957, prior approval of the Central government is mandatory.

In grant of prior approval, every effort is made to ensure that the proposals for grant of mineral concessions are in accordance with the proceedings given in Act and Rules and proposals that do not confirm are rejected/returned.

All licence holders and lessees are required to comply with the conditions of the licence or lease deed, which are listed out in Rule 7 (for reconnaissance permit), Rule 14 (for prospecting licence) and Rule 27 (for mining lease) of the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960.

Since the licence or lease is granted by the state government, violations of conditions of licence or lease is monitored by State Government and data is not centrally maintained.

India iron ore production down by 4pct in FY 2011 - Mr Dinsha Patel

Saturday, 13 Aug 2011

India’s mines minister Mr Dinsha Patel said that production of iron ore, a vital steel-making raw material, in the country fell by 4.81% in 2010-11 to 208.11 million tones.

Mr Patel quoting provisional figures from the Indian Bureau of Mines informed the parliament that of this, the private sector accounted for over 70% of iron ore production. He added that India produced 218.64 million tonne of iron ore in 2009-10.

Among the states, Orissa accounted for over 36% of India's total iron ore production, at 74.96 million tonne. Karnataka's output of 37.66 million tonne accounted for another 18.09% and Goa's 36.48 million tonne output was 17.52% of total production.

The data shows that all three states witnessed a decline in iron ore production last fiscal vis-a-vis their respective production figures for 2009-10.

Speaking on consumption, Patel said that steel and allied industries consumed over 118 million tonne of ore in 2009-10, while the cement industry accounted for total consumption of 11.66 million tonne during the year. However, the Mines Minister's reply did not give any reasons for the decline in FY'11.

(Sourced from ET)

Indian government update on land for mining to private companies

Monday, 14 Mar 2011

Mr Dinsha Patel Indian minister of state (independent charge) for mines informed the Lok Sabha that the state governments are competent to grant mineral concessions including Reconnaissance Permit, Prospecting Licence and Mining Lease under the provisions of the Mines and Minerals Act 1957 subject to prior approval of the central government.

Subsequent to the prior approval of the central government, mining leases etc are executed by the state governments with the mining agencies after following the due procedures ie obtaining forest and environment clearances and approval of mining plan from the Indian Bureau of Mines.

Whilst processing the proposals recommended by the State Governments for prior approval of the Central Government, the Ministry of Mines examines the same in the light of the provisions of the MMDR Act, 1957, the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 and the guidelines framed in this regard and where necessary, in consultation with the State Governments and specialized agencies like the Indian Bureau of Mines, the Geological Survey of India and the Department of Atomic Energy. The Ministry of Mines is conscious of its responsibility to ensure that the mineral concession regime functions in a transparent and efficient manner. In this regard, the Ministry has, in consultation with the State Governments, issued the following guidelines:-

1. Comprehensive guidelines dated June 24th 2009, in order to bring more clarity in processing the mineral concession proposals. The guidelines also seek to ensure application of uniform criteria by the State Governments while examining and recommending proposals to the Central Government.

2. Guidelines dated February 9th 2010 on ‘special reasons’ to be adopted by all State Governments while recommending a mineral concession proposal in favour of a later applicant in a non notified area.

3. Guidelines dated October 13th 2010 regards maps in order to ensure that the areas recommended by the State Governments for mineral concessions are clearly demarcated.