Chhattisgarh completes e-auctioning of minor mineral blocks
Chhattisgarh has completed e-auctions of minor minerals from 14 mining blocks and the same had been allocated to the bidders, officials informed.
The mines are located in Raipur, Rajnandgaon, Balodabazar and Bilaspur districts.
It may be recalled that the Union Ministry of Mines had earlier asked Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Kerala and Uttarakhand Governments to modify their rules to enable auctioning of minor mineral blocks, officials informed.
Notably, the e-Auctions of limestone and gold mines had been completed by Chhattisgarh government recently , officials stated.
Chief Minister Raman Singh, who is also In-charge of Mineral Resources Department, congratulated the Department officials for the successful e-Auctions of minor minerals, they stated.
Mineral Resources Department Secretary, Subodh Kumar Singh said that the Central Government had taken major steps to amend the Minerals' Act to e-Auction minor minerals in January 2015.
The States had been allocated a major share in the auction amount. The e-Auctions had made the entire process transparent and quick.
Notably, the Chhattisgarh Government had made significant changes in the minor Minerals Policy on March 23, 2016 and directed for the e-Auctions of all minerals in Chhattisgarh.
Online tenders had been invited from all over the country.
According to available information, the highest bidding was for the three ordinary stones quarries in Rajnandgaon district.
Against the Reserve Price of Rs 20 and 60 paise a square meter the auction price was Rs 83 and 77 paise.
In Raipur district five mines, in Balodabazar district two mines and Bilaspur district four minor minerals' mines had been e-Auctioned successfully.
It may be mentioned here that the State Government had also invited for tenders through the Union Government's MSTC portal.
The State Government had also issued notification on the Mineral Resources Department website.
The last date for the Online bidding was October 17. More than 50 persons had bid for the 14 minor minerals mines.
The Department had completed the e-Auction process in a month's period which earlier it used to take a year.
Notably, Chhattisgarh government will also be putting up a total of six limestone blocks for auction in November and December months this year under Phase II auctions , official sources informed.
The Government is also proposing to reserve the limestone blocks for green field cement plants, they informed.
Meanwhile, the State has collected and deposited Rs 76 crore in the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) account.
Every village with a major mineral lease in Chhattisgarh is being developed as a 'model village' and Rs 5 to 6 crore will be spent every year for the next three years to improve the standard of living in these villages.
The State has issued Letter of Intent (LoI) for three mineral blocks auctioned in Phase I.
Auction for two limestone blocks were annulled due to opposition from the villagers in one block and smaller size and high silica, they informed.
A total of 10 blocks have been identified and are being explored by the State to be made ready for auction in 2017.
Notably, Chhattisgarh had 7.48 per cent share in total value of mineral production in the country during 2014-15, according to the annual report of the Union Ministry of Mines.
As per the report, Rajasthan had share of 11.49 per cent, Gujarat ( 8.85 per cent), Andhra Pradesh ( 8.25 per cent), Chhattisgarh ( 7.48 per cent) followed by Jharkhand ( 7.37 per cent), Odisha ( 6.38 per cent), Maharashtra ( 5.35 per cent), Madhya Pradesh ( 4.70 per cent), West Bengal ( 4.32 per cent), Assam (4.04 per cent), Karnataka (2.96 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh ( 2.72 per cent).
The remaining States and Union Territories having individual share of less than 2.5 per cent all together accounted for remaining of total value of mineral production during the year under review, the report stated.
State-wise analysis revealed that during 2014-15, the value of mineral production have shown a mixed trend as compared to the previous year.
The states which have indicated an increase in the value of mineral production are -- Tripura (14.3 per cent), Karnataka ( 1.6 per cent), Bihar (6.6 per cent), Himachal Pradesh ( 16.5 per cent), Mehgalaya ( 61.6 per cent), Uttar Pradesh ( 0.8 per cent) and Chhattisgarh ( 0.7 per cent).
During 2014-15, mineral production was reported from 33 states and union territories which is actual reporting from Mineral Conservation and Development Rules ( MCDR) and fuel minerals from 23 states and estimation of minor minerals for all the 32 states and union territories of which the bulk of value of mineral production of about 94.18 per cent was confined to 13 states ( including off shore areas) only, it stated.
Jaypee Cement seeks Coal Ministry's nod to return two coal blocks
Jaypee Cement has sought the coal ministry’s nod to surrender two captive coal blocks it had won in the auction last year, as it has sold off the attached cement plants.
The two blocks are Majra in Maharashtra and Mandla South in Madhya Pradesh. An email query to Jaypee Group spokesman did not elicit any response till press time Wednesday.
The company has told the ministry that it does not require the coal blocks as it has sold off the attached cement plants, a senior coal ministry official said. Industry executives said the company could not sell the coal blocks with the cement plant
"The coal ministry has received the representation and is studying it," said the official cited above. "As per auction norms, companies backing off from development of auctioned coal blocks are barred from coal block bidding for a year and their bank guarantees equivalent to a year’s revenue from the mines can be seized."
Orient Cement Ltd, part of the CK Birla Group, had on October 6 said that it had agreed to buy two cement assets of the debt-ridden Jaypee Group in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh for Rs 1,950 crore. These include Bhilai Jaypee Cement, in which Orient is acquiring 74 per cent stake for Rs 1,450 crore, and the Nigrie cement grinding unit in Madhya Pradesh, which is being bought for Rs 500 crore.
Bhilai Jaypee Cement owns a 2.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) cement making capacity at Satna in Madhya Pradesh and a 1MTPA grinding unit at Bhilai in Chhattisgarh. Steel Authority of India owns 26 per cent in Bhilai Jaypee Cement. The Nigrie cement grinding unit has a capacity of 2 MTPA.
Jaypee Cement had emerged the highest bidder for the Majra coal block in Maharashtra with a bid of Rs 1,230 per tonne. It had outbid ACC LtdBSE 0.93 %, Crest Steel and Power, Emami Cement, Grace Industries and JK Lakshmi Cement to secure the block with total extractable reserves of 14.92 million tonne. The block was previously owned by Gondwana Ispat.
The company won the Mandla South block with a bid of Rs 1,852 a tonne. The ready-to-produce block has extractable reserves 13.35 million tonne and is reserved for the non-power sector. The block was previously owned by MP State Mining Corporation.
The Jaypee Group had earlier sold three power plants to JSW EnergyBSE 0.28 % for Rs 12,400 crore. In July, Aditya Birla Group’s UltraTech CementBSE 0.13 % bought 21.1 MTPA cement assets of Jaiprakash AssociatesBSE 1.40 % for Rs 16,189 crore. The consolidated debt of Jaypee Group was Rs 67,500 crore as on March 2016.
Earlier, Monnet Ispat & Energy had told the Delhi High Court that it has sought to surrender the Utkal-C coal block in Odisha, which it had secured for its power plant in the second round of the coal auctions.
Iron ore price holds firm at $US58 a tonne as exports lag
The iron ore price has taken a breather after its recent strong run of gains, but is managing to hold steady as exports look lacklustre.
Iron ore settled at $US58 a tonne overnight, according to The Steel Index, the same as the prior day. The commodity has now posted eight sessions in a row of only gains or steady trade, following a slide from mid-August that suggested some of the heat was coming out of the market.
Analysts continue to expect prices to fall in an oversupplied market. Macquarie research attributes the continued price strength to disappointing shipments.
“One reason for iron ore prices continuing to see good support is sluggish export performance from Australia and Brazil,” Macquarie said in a research note.
“Weekly port data we track shows that since the start of September to the week ending 16 October combined shipments have been running down ~1 per cent year on year.
“Shipments so far this month are also down 1—2 per cent from September run rates.”
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