The government of the mineral-rich eastern Indian state of Orissa has decided to gradually impose production curbs on
iron ore mines without end-use facilities, senior government officials said on Wednesday, November 7.
"Production limits have already been imposed on mines operating in the Joda-Koira reserves and will be gradually extended to cover all
iron ore mines in the state to limit annual
iron ore production to 50 million mt," the official said.
"The government does not want to entertain non-captive
mining of
iron ore in the region. We want to seek
iron ore linkages that will provide value addition following this policy to curb
mining for merchant purposes," the official added.
The production curb also aims at monitoring widespread illegal
mining and excess extraction of ore above that permitted by approved
mining plans, officials said.
Orissa accounts for 34 percent of
India's
iron ore reserves of 28.52 billion mt and produces about 70-75 million mt of ore per year.
It may be noted that the M B Shah Commission appointed by
India's Supreme Court is currently investigating illegal
mining in Orissa as part of its mandate to investigate all illegal
mining activities in the country.
Mining activities have already been banned in the states of Goa and Karnataka in the wake of these investigations.
As a result,
India's
iron ore production was down 19.65 percent in the financial year 2011-12 at 167.11 million mt, compared to 207.99 million mt in the previous financial year. In the same period,
iron ore exports were down 41.78 percent at 57 million mt, compared to 97.90 million mt in the previous financial year.
In the financial year 2012-13, Indian
iron ore production is anticipated to fall further to 140 million mt.
According to a private mine operator in Orissa, the annual production limits could bring down
India's exportable
iron ore by about 20-25 million mt since no ore for export is being extracted from other
iron ore reserves in Goa and Karnataka.