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| Rio Tinto may soon get mining licence for MP project |
| Press Trust of India / New Delhi Mar 05, 2010, 18:03 IST |
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The government is likely to give an in-principle approval to global giant Rio Tinto for its diamond mining project in Madhya Pradesh in which the London-based firm is looking to invest around Rs 2,200 crore.
"The Madhya Pradesh government has already recommended mining lease to Rio Tinto's Bunder project and now the Centre may clear it in the next 10-15 days," a senior Mines Ministry official told PTI today.
When contacted, Rio Tinto India Managing Director Nik Senapati said: "We are happy to hear that mining concession is at the most advanced stage. We are looking forward to getting the environment clearances among other things soon. We are excited to be working in India."
After the Centre approves the mining recommendation from the state, the company has to seek environmental and forest clearances from the Centre before starting mining.
Rio is planning to invest around Rs 2,200 crore in a phased manner in the project, the Ministry official said.
The Bunder project in Chhattarpur district of MP has an estimated reserves of 37 million tonne. At 0.7 carat per tonne, the project would give 27.4 million carats of diamond. Also, the proposed project is in proximity to the state-owned NMDC's Panna diamond reserves.
The mining project is being undertaken by the company's subsidiary Rio Tinto Diamonds and investment would be made through its domestic arm Rio Tinto Exploration India.
"If the company gets all the regulatory approvals in time, the project could start by 2016 from where it is targeting to mine about 3-4 million carats per annum," the official said.
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