National conclave on mining to discuss key issues, opportunities in sector

The government on Saturday said various stakeholders of the mining industry will participate in a national conclave next week and hold strategic discussions on key issues and opportunities in the sector to bring in higher growth and facilitate ease of doing business.

The fifth National Conclave on Mines and Minerals, to be held on November 23, will have many significant segments that will encourage exploration activities, auction regime and sustainable mining practices.

An award ceremony for five-star rated mines for noteworthy performance will be another highlight of the one-day conclave, an official statement said.

At the onset of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015, the regime of auction for grant of mineral concessions has brought about transparency and removed discretion in the mining industry and auction process.

This has not only resulted in substantial increase in revenue to the state governments, but also brought about the paradigm of ease of doing business in the mining sector, it added.

The mines ministry introduced the concept of National Mining Conclave in 2016 in order to provide the right platform for meaningful interaction among all stakeholders like central and state government officers, the real executors in the auction regime, industrial sector and industry associations.

The national conclaves are reckoned as an overwhelming success in providing an effective platform to showcase the key policy initiatives undertaken by the Centre and have helped the government in garnering valuable feedback for furthering the efforts to enable steady growth of the mineral sector.

The mines ministry had launched the scheme of 'Star Rating of Mines' for awarding the mining lease owners in 2016 for their efforts and initiatives for implementation of the Sustainable Development Framework (SDF).

One to five stars are awarded to mines based on the provisions stipulated, with the best performing leases being given five stars.

The mining lease holders with five-star rating for the last three years will be felicitated in the conclave to encourage sustainable mining, the statement said.

Further, 52 potential mineral blocks carved out of G4 stage mineral investigations will be handed over to the state governments during the conclave.

The blocks are located across 15 states, including two blocks in northeastern states, six in Chhattisgarh, eight in Madhya Pradesh and six blocks in Maharashtra.

These comprise many minerals and deposits such as eight limestone blocks, eight gold blocks, eight iron ore blocks, among other minerals.

Auctioning of these blocks, along with 100 blocks recently handed over in September this year, will further strengthen the mineral economy, it added.