SANGUEM: The mines department has directed a basalt stone quarry operator in Sanguem to pay Rs 1.22 crore towards royalty within one month, following the controversial extraction of basalt stones from a quarry in Uguem from 2008 to 2012.

Hit by this notice, efforts are now on to involve local politicians, in a desperate bid to get the government to reduce the royalty. Director of Mines and Geology, Prasanna Acharya, issued a demand notice, asking the quarry operator to make the payment towards royalty within one month from the date of the demand notice, failing which the amount would be recovered as arrears of land revenue.

Bhubaneswar: The Comptroller & Auditor General of India(CAG) has detected large-scale irregularities in allotment of land and houses by the Orissa government and estimates a scam of about R4,000 crore.

While sending a draft report to the Orissa government, a copy of which is available with FE, the CAG has suggested that the land and houses allotted to various individuals and organisations is in violation of the laws and policies and be cancelled immediately.

The authority, while hearing over the plea filed by merchant miners on Wednesday, said, it will soon issue the written stay order

The Revision Authority, set up under the Union mines ministry, has stayed the enforcement of a resolution of the state government that had barred merchant miners to produce minerals during their lease renewal period. The authority, while hearing over the plea filed by merchant miners on Wednesday, said, it will soon issue the written stay order.

PANJIM: Hundreds of mining dependent people on Tuesday began an indefinite chain sit-in protest at Azad Maidan, Panjim, demanding immediate resumption of legal mining in the State.

The protestors under the banner of Goa Mining People’s Front have threatened to intensify the agitation if their demands are not met immediately. “This is indefinite peaceful protest. We want government to know that the situation is bleak in rural Goa. The people dependent on mining are going through critical phase and might have to starve if mining does not resume immediately,” GMPF leader Christopher Fonseca claimed.

The Punjab Industries Department’s claim that it was set to rake in Rs 234 crore through the auction of 22 sand quarries across the state has turned out to be a pipedream. Having basked in the glory of raking in huge revenues for the state by auctioning its sand quarries with all environmental clearances, the department was in for a shock when just two successful bidders came forward to deposit the bid amount. The state thus received just Rs 11 crore.

Sources in the Industries Department informed The Tribune that they had received 50 per cent of the bid amount from just two successful bidders. While Rs 9 crore has been received from the highest bidder for Parchian Biharipur quarry in Ludhiana, Rs 2 crore has been received from the bidder for Gag Digara quarry in Jalandhar.

The four-member National Green Tribunal headed by Justice VR Kingaonkar barred the Environment and Forests Ministry from granting any environment clearance to Goa's iron ore mines without its approval, even as it ordered stoppage of all mining at mines whose initial clearance of five years had expired.

But the Tribunal's order has no immediate effect as all mining operations in Goa are already stayed by the Supreme Court since October on a petition filed by Goa Foundation.

CBI/SIT probe urged against alleged violators, including Sesa Goa, Mysore Minerals

A few mining companies cleared by the Supreme Court to resume mining in Karnataka might have more challenges in store. The primary petitioner in the public interest litigation against illegal mining in the state has filed a fresh application before the apex court that mining be suspended, owing to the alleged violations of various norms.

Supply drought from India is one important reason why spot ore prices climbed so strongly in December after sinking to a 3-year low in September

In an otherwise instructive guidance for all steel stakeholders, global rating agency Fitch Ratings in its ‘2013 outlook steel raw materials producers’ report says India stands the risks becoming a net importer of iron ore in 2013-14. This, by any yardstick, is a far-fetched observation. Federation of Indian Mineral Industries president H C Daga, a no-taker of a possibility of this kind, says, “The ore supply situation has become tight in the wake of a ban on mining in Karnataka and Goa.

The SC appointed Monitoring Committee is currently assessing the quantity of iron ore available at these dumps in the three mining districts

The Supreme Court appointed Monitoring Committee, which is supervising the e-auction of iron ore, has planned to put on auction iron ore dumps containing mostly low-grade iron ore. The committee has started assessing the approximate quantity of iron ore available in the dumps at several places in the three mineral rich districts of Bellary, Chitradurga and Tumkur. The process would be completed in a month’s time and go to Central Empowered Committee (CEC) for an approval to put on e-auction, the sources close to the development said.

‘Cos, both PSUs & private, have neither operated in an environmentally sustainable manner, nor socially beneficial manner’

“Mining only leads to greater poverty,” Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister of Rural Development explained to the tribals of Lanjigarh, Odisha at the foothills of the Niyamgiri hills. This is the union minister's first visit to the naxal-affected Kalahandi district, a political tinderbox, where tribal interests are ranged against big corporates. Mr Ramesh insisted his visit was part of his agenda to visit all naxal affected districts and fight extremism with increased rural development.