India’s Supreme Court has allowed the government of Goa to handle iron ore dumps, the activity at which had been halted ever since the Supreme Court banned iron ore mining in the state in 2012, a government official said on Wednesday, December 14.
“An Expert Committee of the Supreme Court in its report has recommended dump handling and granted powers to the state to decide on the mechanism for handling and disposing of the dumps, and this has been validated by the court,” Goa advocate general Devidas Pangam said in a statement.
As per government records, there are an estimated 313 dumps across the state with 733 million mt of low grade iron ore fines, and following the Supreme Court verdict the Goa government is expected to put up the volume up for auction in a phased manner, government officials said.