Goa Govt may redistribute ore extraction quota
Panaji: With many leases lying non-operational, the state government, which is looking to touch the extraction cap of 20 million tonne to increase revenue, is exploring possibilities of permitting operational mines in the state to extract iron ore beyond the presently permitted quota.
Directorate of mines and geology (DMG), recently, held a meeting with representatives of various mining companies to discuss redistribution of ore extraction limit.
In April 2014, the Supreme Court, in a judgement, set a 20 million tonne per year cap on iron ore extraction in the state. "We cannot raise the iron ore extraction cap and the state government wants to exhaust 20 million tonnes to ensure that maximum revenue is generated. DMG is in discussion with mining companies to allot the iron ore quota of mining leases not in operation to those that are in operation," a senior officer said.
Earlier, the mines department had distributed 20 million tonnes of iron ore among 88 mining companies on pro-rata basis.
The state government has renewed 88 mining leases of which 42 mining leases are in operation.
Captive mine lease holders have right of first refusal: Government
A mine lease holder who has acquired a mineral block for captive purposes will have the 'right of first refusal' at the time of its auction under the amended MMDR law, Parliament was informed today.
Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Act, 1957, was amended through the MMDR Amendment Act, 2015, which came into force with effect from January 12, 2015, Mines Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.
As per clause (4) of section 8A inserted through the Amendment Act, a lease shall be put to auction on expiry of the lease period, he added.
Further clause (7) of the said section contemplates that any holder of a lease granted, where mineral is used for captive purpose, shall have the right of first refusal at the time of auction held for such lease after the expiry of the lease period," the minister informed the House.
The Ministry does not intend to amend the provisions of the MMDR Act in this regard, Goyal added.
He said that industry body Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) had raised the issue for extending the non-captive mining leases till March, 2030.
To a separate query, Goyal said that based on the information provided by state governments, environment clearances (EC) as well as forest clearances (FC) are pending in 69 cases each.
The grant of mining lease by the state government has to be done subject to the fulfilment of the conditions of the LoI/prior approval. The applicant shall obtain the requisite clearances which are stipulated in the conditions of the LoI or the previous approval.
"The Ministry of Mines is making efforts to expedite these requisite clearances under the provisions of their governing act and rules," he added.
Auctioned coal blocks yield Rs 2,779 crore for states
The auction of coal mines is yielding handsome returns for majority of states endowed with black diamond deposits. The 83 mines that were auctioned to commercial entities or allotted to state utilities through the government route have so far generated revenue of Rs 2,779 crore so far, excluding royalty, cess and taxes.
This money is being transferred to states, coal, power, mines and renewable energy minister Piyush Goyal told the Rajya Sabha in written reply to separate questions on Monday.
He said blocks were earlier allotted through the screening committee route and did not result in any earning for the Centre. The Centre has held three rounds of coal mine auctions after the Supreme Court in 2014 cancelled the allotment of 204 coal blocks.
The fourth round auction, specifically for non-regulated sectors such as steel and cement was cancelled in view of a sharp decline in the price of Coal India's output sold through e-auction and international rates for non-coking coal.
The state governments will get upfront payment prescribed in auction norms and royalty on per tonne of coal produced from respective blocks in their states.
Royalty rates, levied as a per cent of the sale price, were last revised to 14% in October 2012, except for Bengal. Coal from the state's mines attract royalty at a fixed per-tonne rate that varies according to the grade of fuel produced. Royalty on lignite stands at 6%.
Mining operations have commenced or mine opening permission granted in 10 out of the 17 Schedule II coal mines, which were operational before cancellation of their allotment, that were auctioned under the provisions of the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act 2015. In addition, one Schedule III coal mine is also operational.
Since commencement of mining operations, 9.56 million tonnes of coal has been produced from these coal mines.
Rest of the Schedule II coal mines are in the process of beginning operation after obtaining statutory clearances as well as appointment of mining contractor. Almost all clearances at the level of the Central government have been granted for commencement of mining operations.
Chinese iron ore futures retreated on Tuesday after steel prices pulled back from a 31-month high hit in a rally that again prompted exchanges to step in to tame the surging market.
A reduction in China's steel capacity along with a push to spend more on infrastructure has fuelled a 90 percent spike this year in prices of construction steel product rebar.
The most-traded rebar for May delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose as far as 3,348 yuan ($486) a tonne, its loftiest since April 2014. But by the midday break, it was down 2.8 percent from Monday's settlement at 3,188 yuan.
May iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was down 3.8 percent at the day's low of 592 yuan per tonne.
In China's latest move to tame speculative trading and surging prices, the Shanghai exchange limited the size of positions taken by non-members in rebar futures to 8,000 lots from 10,000 lots starting on Tuesday.
On Monday, the Dalian exchange increased the margin requirement for iron ore futures to 10 percent.
The red-hot rally in steel had also spilled over to raw material iron ore as well as to zinc, used to galvanise steel and which raced to a nine-year high on Monday.
Apart from the curbs, the price of iron ore could weaken again next year given there's no shortage in available supply, said CLSA analyst Daniel Meng.
"Iron ore demand would become slightly higher because steel demand is strong. But on the supply side, you continue to have new low-cost capacity this year and into next year," said Meng.
The slide in futures could pull spot iron ore back below $80 a tonne, a level it breached on Monday for the first time since October 2014.
Iron ore for delivery to China's Qingdao port .IO62-CNO=MB rose 1.5 percent to $80.83 a tonne on Monday, according to Metal Bulletin. ($1 = 6.8920 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr.)
http://in.reuters.com/article/asia-ironore-idINL4N1DU1TT
Warm Regards
Anurag Singal
Sr Manager –Business Development
Essel Mining & Industries Ltd
14th Floor, Industry House
10,Camac Street –Kol-71
Ph: 033-30518415,9088026252
The information contained in this electronic communication is intended solely for the individual(s) or entity to which it is addressed. It may contain proprietary, confidential and/or legally privileged information. Any review, retransmission, dissemination, printing, copying or other use of, or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information by person(s) or entities other than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us by responding to this email or telephone and immediately and permanently delete all copies of this message and any attachments from your system(s). The contents of this message do not necessarily represent the views or policies of Aditya Birla Group. Computer viruses can be transmitted via email. Aditya Birla Group Companies attempts to sweep e-mails and attachments for viruses, it does not guarantee that either are virus free. The recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. Aditya Birla Group does not accept any liability for any damage sustained as a result of viruses.
No comments:
Post a Comment