The state steel & mines department is not in favour of a complete ban on export of iron ore to help curb illegal mining activities.

The M B Shah Commission of enquiry probing into large scale mining activities without lawful authority had recently sought the views of the state government on whether export of iron ore should be prohibited to control illegal mining. “We are not in favour of a complete ban on iron ore export as it will not be in the interest of the state government as well as leaseholders. The department is of the opinion that a limit on exports can be fixed. But nothing has been decided yet and a final decision will be taken at the highest level,” said a source at steel & mines department.

Affected mine owners point out that the govt’s October 26 order is retrospective.

The recent order of the Joda mining circle office to 10 miners, who are waiting for renewal of their mining leases, to restrict iron ore output only to the extent of their captive plant need until the completion of the lease renewal process, is likely to result in 27 million tonne (mt) production loss per year, trade estimates said.

The order follows a recent state government resolution that mines having value addition industry attached to it will be given priority at the time of renewal of mining leases.

The Joda mining circle has sent notices to 10 mines under its jurisdiction to restrict their productions as per their captive needs until the renewal of their mining leases.

The order, issued in line with a recent resolution of the government, is likely affect productions of five mines which do not have any user industry to consume the mineral.

The commission during its recent visit to the state from October 3-11 scrutinised records of 81 mines out of a total of 186 mining leases

The Justice M B Shah Commission of enquiry which is set to visit Odisha for the third time from October 31 will take up field verification of select mines in Koira sector in Sundergarh district. “During its last visit, the Shah Commission had confined its probe to checking file records of all iron ore and manganese ore lessees. This time, they have communicated to us regarding their plan to visit a few mines in Koira circle. The probe panel will take up field verification during October 31-November 3,” said a senior steel & mines department official.

The Joda mining circle under the state steel and mines department has issued show cause notices to 42 iron ore and manganese mines lease holders over last two weeks in excess raising cases and has urged them to take steps to return the amount of money they have gained by selling the excess mineral raised.

It had sent notices to around 20 miners in August this year on the same charges. In the second phase, the government has picked up 42 more miners this month, including Aditya Birla Group company controlled Essel Mining, Tata Steel and state-run miner Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC).

The Justice M B Shah Commission of enquiry which is on a visit to Odisha will probe all mining leases allocated in the state since 1952.

“We are going to probe all mining leases granted in the state since 1952. The panel will examine whether these leases are operational or closed,” said U V Singh, head of the probe panel. The panel in its second day of scrutiny into alleged irregularities in the mining activities had invited some private mine owners from Keonjhar district.

New Delhi The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the shipping ministry, the governments of West Bengal and Orissa to amicably resolve the Kolkata Port limit expansion issue within two weeks.

The Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) and the West Bengal government have challenged the Orissa HC’s judgement that scrapped the notifications issued by the ministry of shipping on October 22, 2010, altering the Kolkata Port limits and by the port trust on November 10 giving effect to the earlier one.

An official panel has recommended the cancellation of mining licence of a coal block held jointly by JSW Steel and Himachal EMTA while Tata Steel and Reliance Power will be allowed to retain blocks

Pvt owners haven’t done much to develop them for years.