The commission has further urged the state government to furnish the necessary information on or before July 27

The M B Shah Commission of enquiry that recently submitted its first report on illegal mining in Odisha, has pointed out glaring violation in respect of Kolmong manganese mines leased out to Rungta Sons in Sundergarh district.

Maharashtra govt has granted Prospecting Licence to the company for 11 blocks spread over 597 hectares

State-run manganese ore producer MOIL Ltd today said the Prospecting Licence for 11 blocks in Maharashtra that it has received from the state government would go a long way in augmenting the production of precious manganese ore in the country in coming years.

Levy burden on miners pegged at Rs 50,000 crore if govt order implemented

The miners have prayed to the court to quash the Indian Stamp (Odisha Amendment) Act, 2013, which allows the Odisha government to collect stamp duty on lapsed mining leases

The members of Shah Commission, enquiring into illegal mining activities, will reach Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.

The fifth round of hearing of the state government and the miners by the Commission is expected to take place from Wednesday after Justice M B Shah reaches here. A team of the state officials including steel and mines secretary, will present their views in front of the panel members. They will be assisted by three Supreme Court advocates,

The Centre today asked the Odisha government to sort out the forest diversion issues expeditiously in the mining areas.

Electronic sale of key bulk minerals in Odisha like iron ore, manganese and chrome ore is expected to start from April 2013. E-auction services will be offered by Kolkata-based MSTC Ltd.

“We are making efforts to launch e-auction of iron ore, manganese and chrome ore from April 1, 2013. In December, we will convene a meeting of all stakeholders to decide the modalities of e-auction. Once a consensus is reached, we will take government order for beginning of electronic sale of minerals,” said director (mines) Deepak Mohanty.

The Justice M B Shah Commission of enquiry probing into large scale illegal mining activities has urged collectors of Sundergarh, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar- the three mineral rich districts in Odisha, to furnish details of all iron ore and manganese leases on or before November 1.

“During the examination of records from October 4-11 in Bhubaneswar, it is observed that the district collector is supposed to grant surface rights for working to extract minerals from the granted mining leases. You are requested to furnish the detailed list of all iron ore and manganese ore leases in your district”, Sudhir S Shah, registrar, M B Shah Commission of enquiry wrote to the collectors of Kenjhar, Sundergarh and Mayurbhanj.

In a blow to Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), the Odisha government has refused allotment of iron ore mines in favour of the navratna PSU.

The state government has communicated its decision to the steel maker, citing its inability to allot iron ore mines since it has already decided to reserve all the balance mineral bearing areas in favour of its own PSU- Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC). “Your request for allotment/reservation of good iron ore blocks in Odisha in favour of RINL may not be considered as the state government through a resolution dated September 18, 2012 has decided to reserve the remaining area bearing iron ore for undertaking prospecting or mining operation through OMC”, B Behera, under secretary (steel & mines) wrote to RINL's chairman and managing director.

The commission during its recent visit to the state from October 3-11 scrutinised records of 81 mines out of a total of 186 mining leases

The Justice M B Shah Commission of enquiry which is set to visit Odisha for the third time from October 31 will take up field verification of select mines in Koira sector in Sundergarh district. “During its last visit, the Shah Commission had confined its probe to checking file records of all iron ore and manganese ore lessees. This time, they have communicated to us regarding their plan to visit a few mines in Koira circle. The probe panel will take up field verification during October 31-November 3,” said a senior steel & mines department official.