The Supreme Court Tuesday asked the Centre to respond to a plea seeking quashing of allotment, extension or continuation of leases to firms for mining iron ore from over 358 mines across the countr

Mumbai: Mining will not be allowed in areas declared as forests, wildlife sanctuaries and buffer zones.

These were among the new rules for mining of minor minerals that were approved by the state cabinet on Wednesday to make mining an ecologically sustainable industry. Now, every district will have to prepare a district mining plan to be monitored by a committee headed by the collector. Mining will be allowed only during the day and to reduce noise, air and water pollution, only scientific excavation will be permitted.

The Australian High Commission is pinning its hopes on the Odisha government and the Centre's new Mines & Minerals (Development & Regulation) MMDR Bill to pave the way for revival of its mining giant- Rio Tinto's iron ore mining project in the state.

The mining behemoth was to take up the $2 billion project jointly with state controlled miner- Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC). However, of late, OMC's reluctance to revive the project seemed to have queered the pitch for Rio Tinto.

The mines ministry has told a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Coal and Steel that it is imperative to compensate the project affect persons (PAP) in the mining zones by allotting them shares in

New Delhi The government can go ahead and allocate mining leases on a first come, first served (FCFS) basis, attorney general GE Vahanvati has told the government.

Following the Supreme Court warning that the first-come-first-serve system for granting mineral concessions may be misused “by unscrupulous people,” the mines ministry has sought legal opinion on h

New Delhi Just a day before the Election Commission was set to issue the notification for the 2009 general election, the United Progressive Alliance-I government had hurried to allocate large capti

But company says govt decision to permit use of incremental coal does not result in any loss to exchequer or undue benefit

The draft report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on coal allocation has alleged undue benefits of Rs 15,849 crore to Reliance Power Ltd (RPL) by way of surplus coal allocation for two of its Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs). The report pegs benefit to RPL from surplus allocation for the Sasan UMPP at Rs 4,875 crore. Another Rs 10,974 crore “may accrue” from the Tilaiya UMPP, it says.

There is still more bad news for coal mining companies, with the mines ministry recommending that coal miners mandatory share 100 per cent royalty with project-affected families. The recommendation, if implemented, could severely dent coal miners’ bottom line.

It would not only increase the annual outgo of monopoly producer Coal India Ltd (CIL) on account of benefit sharing, but also bring captive block holders, including large companies like Tata, Reliance, Essar, GMR, GVK and Aditya Birla Group, under the benefit-sharing net.

The mining industry will have to wait till at least the monsoon session of Parliament for passage of the new Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation (MMDR) Bill. The legislation is being examined by a parliamentary standing committee.

In an interview here with Business Standard, the secretary in the ministry of mines, Vishwapati Trivedi, ruled out earlier passage of the Bill. “The Budget session starts on March 12 and I think the standing committee has not yet completed its deliberations. So, there’s no way we can get it in the Budget session,” he said.