Patnaik Steel and Alloys, a subsidiary of Patnaik Minerals, the lease holder of Banachapani iron ore mine in Keonjhar district, has been found to have violated several forest and environment rules.

This is revealed from an enquiry conducted by the State Director of Mines into the issue. “The matter has been enquired into by officers of Directorate of Mines and basing on their report and verification, the following irregularities have been noticed along with other violations,” the state steel and mines department said while asking the state revenue and environment ministry to initiate action against the miner.

Lorry operators could not be permitted to transport even crusher dust, a product of the stone mining industry, to any place much less to other States without a valid transit permit, the Madras High Court Bench here has held.

Justice D. Hariparanthaman passed the ruling while dismissing a writ petition filed by a road transport company owner to forbear the government as well as police officials in Tirunelveli district from preventing the transport of crusher dust to Kerala.

New Delhi The central government may consider tweaking the proposed Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation (MMDR) Bill, 2011, to retain its control in allocation of mineral concessions.

The existing MMDR Act, 1957, makes the Centre’s approval a must for grant of mineral concessions for most of the minerals, including iron ore, manganese and chrome. However, the MMDR Bill proposes to devolve full powers of extension, grant of mineral concession to the state governments. The states would not require any prior approval from the central government to grant a mining lease to be allocated mainly through the competitive bidding route.

After limiting movement of mineral laden trucks in the Joda-Koira mine rich belt, the state mining department has issued fresh set of guidelines for trucks plying on all mining routes to stop overloading and curb illegal ore ferrying.

Under the new guidelines issued by the directorate of mines, trucks allowed to enter into mine leasehold area will have to obtain a loading slip prepared by the lessee, at the entry point. The loading slip would contain information on truck registration number, destination to which the ore is to be transported and time of entry to the mine.

New Delhi The government is set to consider a proposal for a complete ban on private-public joint ventures (JVs) for developing mineral blocks allocated to state-run corporations and public sector

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has voiced his opposition to some provisions of the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Bill-2011, stating that the bill if enacted in the current form would be a departure from federal structure of the constitution.

Pointing out that regulation of mines and mineral development is basically a state subject, Patnaik said that the MMDR Bill attempts to transfer certain powers and functions being exercised by states to the Centre.

PANJIM: The minor mineral extractors in the state will now have to seek permission from union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) before applying for the licence with the state Mines and Geology department, according to an order issued the Mines department on Thursday following Supreme Court directives.

The directives stated that the leases of minor mineral including their renewal for an area of less than five hectares be granted by the States/Union Territories only after getting environmental clearance from the MoEF. The order was passed on February 27, in a petition filed by one Deepak Kumar and other v/s state of Haryana.

The Chawla Committee Report reveals that the government's legal references and disclosures to the Supreme Court on the MMDR Act is not the whole truth, which could be an additional reason for the report gathering dust.

The Ministry of Mines has framed a new MMDR Bill 2011 to replace the old MMDR Act 1957 which has been referred to the GoM and vetted by the Law Ministry. The review