Around 25 are still awaiting various approvals from the authorities

Despite the Supreme Court allowing resumption of mining in Karnataka this April, only a dozen mines have managed to resume till now. Around 25 are still awaiting various approvals from the authorities. The delay is crippling both the mining and steel industry in Karnataka. As things stand, the steady supply of iron ore seems far away.

NMDC is setting up a 1.8-million-tonne-per-annum (mtpa) beneficiation plant and a 1.2-mtpa pellet plant at an investment of Rs 650 crore

KIOCL, a steel ministry undertaking facing severe shortage of iron ore for its pellet plant in Mangalore, is planning to partner public sector mining giant NMDC for a pellet plant in Karnataka.

The Rajasthan government has allocated a large iron ore block at Bhilwara to RINL in a move that has been approved by the union mines ministry.

Ore major keeping domestic price lower than landed cost of import; falling rupee does not come to rescue as international ore prices have also softened

The rupee slide could result in a rise of the steel industry's import bill for key inputs, like coke. But, for now, it is unlikely to alter the equation for those depending on import of iron ore. The recent fall in iron ore prices in the international market has offset the slide in the rupee.

If the M B Shah Commission's proposal for a complete ban on iron ore mining in Odisha is implemented, it may result in a fall of 11 million tonnes (mt) in the combined captive iron ore output of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Tata Steel.

Earlier, iron ore mining was banned in Goa, after it was found norms related to the environment had been violated. The commission is finalising its recommendations on irregularities in iron ore mining in Odisha. If the commission suggests a blanket ban on mining, SAIL would lose four mt of captive iron ore output, while Tata Steel would lose seven mt of iron ore a year.

The company has been accused of polluting two important rivers of Bastar namely Dankani and Shankani

Acknowledging that the iron ore project of National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) in South Bastar is causing contamination of rivers, Chhattisgarh government has ordered a survey of the af

Category B mines allowed to resume mining subject to necessary clearances

The forest bench of the Supreme Court has accepted all the reports submitted periodically by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) regarding the mining in Karnataka. As per the CEC reports, Category B mines will be allowed to restart mining subject to necessary statutory clearances. Already, the apex court has approved 18 Category A mines, of which 7 mines have started mining.

Dharwad-based NGO Jan Sangram Parishat (JSP) has urged the Union and the state governments concerned to accept and implement the report of the Western Ghats Expert Panel submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests on August 31, 2011.

JSP convenor S R Hiremath said here at the weekend that the report submitted by the panel headed by scientist Madhav Gadgil had come out with concrete steps to preserve and conserve the Western Ghats which was facing the threat of serious ecological imbalance.

The first ever advance e-auction, held on March 8, witnessed bidding for close to half a million tonnes of iron ore by large steel mills

Advance e-auction for NMDC's iron ore has started off on a promising note with steel mills lapping up the entire lot of iron ore fines put on auction last month. With the new system coming into place, the public sector miner has increased production of iron ore at two of its mines in Bellary district, giving much needed relief to steel mills.