India’s Ministry of Mines has set an internal deadline of the end of July this year to float a Notice Inviting Tenders (NIT) for the auction of 48 operational iron ore and manganese mines, a government official said on Tuesday, June 25.
The official said that the leases for these 48 currently operational mines are due to expire in March 2020, and, as per provisions of the Mines, Minerals Development and Regulation Act 2015, fresh leases to operate the mines beyond the date will need to be auctioned.
The auction process will be conducted by respective state governments where the mines are located and these state governments have already completed the mandatory new G2 level of exploration for the mines to be put up for fresh auction, the official said.
The Mines Ministry is also holding consultations with its counterparts in Ministry of Forests and Environment so that new lease holders will be able to continue operating the 48 mines with the mandatory clearances already in place with existing lease holders, and operations need not be put on hold until such time new lease holders’ applications for fresh environmental clearances are submitted and approved by relevant authorities.