India's Supreme Court has lifted mining restrictions on some of the mines located in Karnataka state, according to media reports.
According to the Supreme Court decision, the mining ban on 18 ‘Category A' mines in Karnataka has been lifted. However, this will not allow steel mills to go back to normal production capacity immediately. Instead, this is expected to take up to six months. On the other hand, ‘Category B' and 2 ‘Category C' mines have not been allowed to restart operations.
Mining operations were halted in the Bellary district of Karnataka state in July 2011 due to illegal mining and environmental impact.