The government of coastal Indian state of Goa has put up for auction 18 idle iron ore dumps with total estimated volume of 30 million mt of low-grade ore ranging between 45-51 percent Fe content, a government official said on Thursday, December 19.
Last month the Goa government revised its e-auction policy for auction of dumps of low-grade iron ore lying in private land for which conversion charges have not been paid by the landowners, the official said.
He said that winning bidders would be permitted to export the low-grade iron ore from the dumps.
In 2023, the Supreme Court permitted the government to conduct mining activities at the dumps and accordingly the Goa government notified a policy for handling of such dumps, the official said.
The “Dump Handling Policy” of the Goa government paves the way of dealing with idle dumps estimated to have 700 million mt of low-grade ore and exporting 25 million mt, the official added.