Ballari: In a first of its kind in the entire country, the state government has set the ball rolling for an electronic auction for granting 11 category ‘C’ iron ore mining leases.
This much-awaited move is considered a major boost to the raw-material starved steel making industry in the state and future investors in the steel sector ahead of the Global Investors Meet scheduled in February 2016.
Out of the 51 category ‘C’ mining leases, licenses of which have been cancelled by the Supreme Court on 18th April 2013 for gross illegalities, the state government has identified 15 leases for auctioning after determining the available iron ore reserves in each mine through the state-owned Mineral Exploration Corporation of India (MECL).
Of these 15 mines, in the first stage, state government has put 11 mines for auction. Congress MLAs Anil Lad and Santosh Lad family operated M/s V S Lad and Sons, BJP MLA from Hosapate Mr B S Anand Singh family operated M/s S B Minerals (M L No. 2393), Goa-based Salgoankar group operated two mines of M/s Tungabhadra Minerals Pvt Ltd, Rama Rao Poal, M/s Lakshminarayana Mining Co, Ramghad Minerals and Mining Pvt Ltd, Nidhi Mining Company, M/s M Srinivasulu Mines are identified in Ballari sector and M/s Channakeshava Reddy mines is identified in Chitradurga district.
Tenders have been invited in pursuance of the MMDR Act 1957, Mineral (auction) Rules 2015 and the Supreme Court’s judgment in Dharwad-based NGO Samaj Parivarthan Samudaya’ case against illegal mining in the state.
According to the Director of Mines and Geology who is also the Tender Inviting Authority, mine specific financial and technical bids have been invited from the interested bidders. According to tender conditions, only the end-users engaged in steel, pig iron, sponge iron and pellet making are eligible to participate in the auction and previous lessees of ‘C’ category mines are also eligible to participate in the auction provided that are ‘end-users’.
According to industry insiders, this eligibility criterion would see the end of so-called ‘minelords’ and would encourage big corporate houses to enter the traditional Ballari-Hosapete mining sector. “Going by these conditions, small and medium players cannot survive before the global steel giants like JSW Steels, Arcellor Mittal, Tata Steel and Posco”, said a sponge iron plant operator.
JSW Steels is already operating a 10 million tonme per annum capacity steel mill near Ballari, while Arcellor Mittal in Ballari is awaiting the acquisition of a captive mine to start its operation.
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