The government of the western Indian coastal state of Goa will auction 2.5 million mt of iron ore lying idle at port stockyards, a government official said on Monday, October 12.
The official said that the Department of Mines and Geology will seek the approval of the government to hold the auction and generate revenues for the government.
It may be pointed out that a similar auction held in May, in the midst of the national lockdown, had failed to evoke any response from buyers.
Iron ore mining remains banned in Goa in the past two years, following an order of the Supreme Court which held that renewal of expired mining leases without adopting an auction process had been illegal.