PANJIM: Five out of the seven mining lease holders who were initially sent renewal notices have deposited Rs 129 crore in the bank, with one lease holder paying stamp duty.

The State is hoping to mop up approximately Rs 252 crore, revenue in the form of stamp duty, from total 15 mining leases and a total of Rs 800 crore if all leases are renewed.

PANJIM: The affidavit by Goa Foundation in the PIL on illegal mining that is likely to come up Wednesday referring to raising contractors said, “As the case of Badruddin Mavani has shown, eventuall

PANJIM: Tearing into the State government’s affidavit (reply), Goa Foundation in its rejoinder, has argued that if the original lessee cannot mine the ore from the mine, then it should be returned to the state instead of being allowed to be mined by a raising contractor.

Iron ore resource is a public asset. In the act of mining, the said resource is depleted for profits which accrue to the private party to whom the asset is leased,” says the rejoinder, pointing out that the government is only the custodian of that asset, and therefore duty bound to ensure that the public asset is leased to private parties at the highest possible price.

A six member team of Shah Commission, enquiring into illegal mining activities in Goa and Odisha, arrived here on Tuesday. The commission will hear views of the mine owners during this round of visit to the state.

"We will be hearing the lessees during the visit that will continue for about 3-4 days. Those lessees whose documents were examined during the last visit have been asked to appear before the panel," said U V Singh, additional principal conservator of forests, Karnataka and member of the Commission.

Exports of iron ore are likely to fall further during the next financial year (2013-14) and touch a record low, as Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal ignored the demand for a level field in the freight rates charged on movement of iron ore for domestic use and exports. There is already an export cess of 30 per cent on iron ore as a dampener.

In 2008-09, iron ore exports were at a record 110 million tonnes (mt), which have fallen to just 15 mt in the current financial year till November. The industry estimates that since government policies remain non-conducive, exports next year could be in single digit, maybe a few million tonnes.

To get around the shortage of domestic coal, Budget 2013-14 is expected to announce a far reaching change to make private sector produce more of the mineral.

Companies with coal blocks will be allowed to sell their surplus coal under a public-private-partnership model in the markets instead of selling only to Coal India. This will need an amendment to the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973, which the government will propose.

PANJIM: A discussion on mining in Goa today morning saw speakers demand that one company of one individual should not own more than 5 mining leases.

PANJIM: The mines department was served with a legal notice challenging the legality of the Goa (Prevention of Illegal Mining Transportation and Storage of Minerals) Rules 2004 and demanding that the rules be withdrawn within two weeks.

The notice served by Adv Krishnendu Mukherjee says that Section 23 C of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957 does not allow for rules for trading of minerals by registered operators, but only for prevention of illegal mining, transportation and storage of minerals.

KEONJHAR: The government and mining companies were feared to face a loss of over Rs 250 crore on the first day of the nationwide bandh in the district as mineral transportation by rail and road came to a halt on Wednesday.

"There was no mining activity here today and the loss is tremendous," said deputy director of mines Ballav Ch Nayak. While no trains plied in the district, supporters and leaders of various trade unions blocked National Highway-215 (Rajamunda-Panikoili) and NH-6 (Mumbai-Kolkata) at different places, affecting transportation of minerals.

A top official from the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) on Tuesday expressed concern over closing down of mines following irregularities by miners, citing the case of Karnataka and Goa as the recent examples of such closures.

Mining cannot be done “at the cost of environment” and social concerns and a sustainable growth structure is required for the industry, Controller General of Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) C S Gundewar said on Tuesday. There is a need to evolve sustainable development framework within which all mineral development activities are carried out integrating economic, social and environmental components in the mining industry, according to him.