India’s Ministry of Mines has decided to clampdown on iron ore mines which have not resumed operations after new mining leases were granted following auctions held earlier this fiscal year, a government official said on Monday, January 18.
The official said that the Ministry of Mines has finalized amendments to certain relevant mining rules and circulated them among industry stakeholders, whereby mining leases granted will be cancelled if mines are not brought into production within seven to eight months after the conclusion of the auction and the grant of new leases to new investors.
It has been proposed that Rule 12A is to be amended to stipulate that a successful bidder at the auction of a mining lease will make a payment equivalent to the revenue share and other statutory levies that will have been payable at the prescribed level of mining production or dispatch targets on a quarterly basis.
It has also been proposed to provide in the new rules that failure to maintain prescribed production levels for three consecutive quarters may lead to termination of leases, the official said.
A total of 46 iron ore mining leases expired on March 31, 2020, across India, of which 24 mining leases for iron ore blocks in Odisha were put up for auction, with new mining leases granted last year. Of the 24 new mining leases granted last year, only four have resumed operations.