A hike in the cap on iron ore mining in the southern Indian state of Karnataka will be delayed as India’s Supreme Court is seeking further clarifications on the issue, a Karnataka government official said on Thursday, October 12.
The government official said that that the Supreme Court has sought clarifications on conflicting submissions made while seeking a hike of the court-approved cap of 30 million mt per year.
Based on recommendations of the Central Empowered Committee appointed by the court, the Supreme Court had earlier approved an increase in annual production up to 30 million mt per year, up from 20 million mt earlier.
However, India’s Ministry of Steel has sought an increase to 50 million mt per year, while the Karnataka government has sought court approval for a cap of 40 million mt per year. The Indian Ministry of Mines stated that the size of the cap should be left to a committee of experts.
The Supreme Court has directed all parties to clarify these conflicting stances before the court makes a final decision on further increasing the annual cap or not, the official added.