Early clearances must before auctioning of mines: FIMI

With mineral-producing states expected to start auction of mines bearing minerals such as iron ore, bauxite and limestone by October and November, Federation of Indian Mineral Industries ( FIMI) on Saturday urged the Centre to ensure that all approvals including forest and environment clearances should be put in place before the bidding.

Expressing apprehensions about the auction route for mines given the states capacity, mining lobby said that the Union Ministry of Mines should ensure that all approvals  from various authorities should be sanctioned in a time-bound manner.

“Our major concern is the quantum of contribution to district mineral fund (DMF) which is linked to royalty. The quantum of contribution by the mining owner needs to be much lower than the maximum limit allowed as per the amended Mines and Mineral Development Regulation (MMDR) Act”, H Noor Ahmed, FIMI president  told reporters here.

With the Steel Ministry aiming to produce 300 million tonne of steel in next ten years in the country, the requirement of iron ore to meet this demand is 500 to 600 million tonnes per year against the current availability of 129 million tonne.

To meet the requirement, the government must adopt industry-friendly policy including granting early approvals, encouraging private players in exploration, reducing railway freight charges, Basant Poddar, FIMI vice-president  said.