The State Government would auction seven of its mines by August this year. The mines include iron ore and manganese and a bauxite mine in Koraput district.
According to said Steel and Mines Minister Prafulla Mallick, the Government is in the process of auctioning seven more mines by July-August this year. The Vedanta limited is likely to participate in the bidding process when the bauxite mine in Koraput goes under the hammer to feed its one-million-tonne refinery plant located at lanjigarh in Kalahandi district.
The Vedanta refinery and smelter plants are running at 50 per cent capacity due to lack of raw material, said sources.
The Essar Steel bagged the first iron ore block offered for e-auction in March this year, upstaging strong contenders like the Tata Steel, the Jindal Steel & Power ltd (JSPl) and the JSW Steel. Mallick would participate in the State Mines Ministers’ meeting to be held in Jaipur in Rajasthan on May 27.
Mallick said the Odisha Government would raise several issues, including the process for granting environment and forest clearances to mines in the state.
The Mines Ministers would discuss the auction process, functioning of the District Mineral Foundation (DMF), minor mineral rules and curbing illegal mining and enhanced penal provisions, said sources. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha have put up six major mineral blocks on e-auction.
The identification of major mineral blocks and their auction preparedness would be discussed at the meeting, according to the agenda.
The status of collection of the money accrued in the DMF funds by the State Government and its utilisation would also be discussed, it added.