The government of the western Indian state of Goa has commenced the process of auctioning mining leases for four iron ore mines, paving the way for resumption of mining which has been halted since 2018 on order of the Indian Supreme Court, government sources said on Friday, September 30.
The four iron ore blocks put up for auction are Bicholim, Sirigao-Mayem, Monte de Sirigao and Kalay. All the four mines were operational until the Supreme Court halted mining in Goa.
This is the first time that the Goa government is holding an auction of mining leases. The Supreme Court in 2018 halted all iron ore mining activities in the coastal state, maintaining that renewal of mining leases in favor of existing operators without adopting the auction process was illegal.
The last date for submission of bids had been fixed for November 21 this year.