India's Supreme Court has decided to lift the mining ban in Karnataka state, allowing 18 more mines, both category A and B, to resume operations 21 months after imposing a mining ban in the state for environmental reasons, according to media reports. Steel producers which had to cut their steelmaking capacities due to lack of iron ore supplies in the state have welcomed the decision.
Sesa Goa, one of the Indian iron ore producers allowed to restart mining operations, reported no iron ore production from its Karnataka and Goa operations during the December quarter, as SteelOrbis previously reported.
Due to the mining ban in Karnataka, Indian steel producer JSW Steel was operating at 80 percent capacity utilization and the company was reported to be planning to import 5 million mt of iron ore to feed two of its plants.