Judgement of the Supreme Court of India in the matter of Ashapura Mine-Chem Ltd. Vs Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation dated 16/04/2015 regarding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for for setting up an alumina plant in the Kutch District of Gujarat. The MoU also records that the Government of Gujarat agreed to encourage and support the proposed joint venture for setting up of the alumina plant. The respondent agreed to supply on priority basis, medium grade Bauxite to the proposed plant from its 10 existing and 18 expected Bauxite mining leases in the Kutch District.

Net generation from the project is expected to be 104.10 million units

Rs 15,000-crore aluminium park stuck as both parties ponder setting up of smelter

Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC)’s ambitious Rs 15,000-crore aluminium park in Kutch, Gujarat, is again staring at hurdles. GMDC wants to set up a one-million-tonne alumina refinery and a 50,00,000-tonne aluminium smelter. However, its partner, National Aluminium Company (Nalco), is wary of the smelter, as converting alumina into aluminium requires mega power generation.

Kolkata: The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) once again seems to be putting the brakes on exploration activity for identifying new, mineable coal reserves, which are crucial to the country’s rising coal demand.

AK Debnath, chairman and managing director, Central Mine & Planning Design Institute (CMPDI), told FE that the Planning Commission has set a target of prospecting 15 lakh metres per annum by the end of the 12th Plan Period ending 2017, against the current annual average of 3 lakh metres. Accelerating such activity would require digging more bore holes — at least 15 for every sq km. But the MoEF is sticking to its benchmark of allowing digging an average 1-1.5 bore holes per sq km, which would make the target impossible.

Guj CM had written a series of letters to PM since June 2010 seeking additional coal blocks for Guj Mineral Dev Corp

The Centre has turned down Gujarat government requests for coal blocks. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had written a series of letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh since June 2010 seeking additional coal blocks for Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) and allocation of an alternate coal block for the state-run company.

Plans to open International Centre on Mining Safety and Automation with industry support

State-owned mining major, Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Ltd (GMDC) is planning to set up centres of excellence for the stone industry in North Gujarat. The company is also searching for an industry partner to set up an international centre on mining safety and automation, top government official informed on Monday. "The board of directors of the company has decided to set up an international centre on mining safety and automation in Gujarat. Also, at Ambaji in North Gujarat, we are trying to set up centres of excellence for the stone industry, to provide skill enhancement for the youth in the mining sector," said M Sahu, principal secretary, department of industries and mines, Government of Gujarat.

Continuing its crackdown on non-serious players, the Ministry of Coal deallocated two more coal blocks- Baitarani West and Naini- allotted in Odisha in view of the unsatisfactory progress in development of the coal mines and end-use plants.

The deallocation has been effected by the ministry on the basis of recommendations made by the inter-ministerial group (IMG) of the Centre on coal block allocation. The government has also forfeited 50 per cent bank guarantee provided by the allocatees at the time of allotment.

Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL), which had announced to close down its alumina refinery in Odisha from December 5 for want of bauxite, may go for a temporary shutdown of the facility in a day or two, much before the due date.

With no immediate supply of bauxite in sight, the company said, it will be compelled to shut the refinery for 10-15 days, latest by Friday. “Going by our current stock of bauxite, we will not be in a position to run the refinery after a day or two. Then, we have to take a painful decision to shut our refinery plant for 10-15 days.

State-run caustic soda major Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd (GACL) has joined hands with National Aluminium Company (Nalco) for setting up 200,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) caustic soda project at Dahej in Gujarat.

"The feasibility report for the proposed project is currently on and is likely to be completed by October-November this year. GACL will have majority stake in the project, which will come up at Dahej in Gujarat," said MS Dagur, managing director, Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd, which is the largest caustic soda manufacturer in India.

Vedanta Aluminium, which runs a 1 million tonne alumina refinery in Orissa’s Kalahandi district, may shut down within a fortnight due to acute shortage of bauxite.

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