States gear up to auction 70 mineral blocks in FY18

Tamil Nadu tops the list with 12 blocks ready to go under the hammer in FY18

Mineral rich states are gearing up to auction 70 mineral blocks in 2017-18. Tamil Nadu tops the list with 12 blocks ready to go under the hammer in the next financial year (FY), followed by Maharashtra that has offered to auction 10 mineral blocks.

Odisha, the largest iron ore producer, has three iron ore blocks to be put to auctions in FY18. Together, these three iron ore blocks have a combined reserve exceeding 200 million tonne.

On February 3, the coordination cum empowered committee of the Union mines ministry will review the auction preparedness by the states. Gold, limestone, iron ore, bauxite, graphite, molybdenum, managanese and emerald blocks are poised to be auctioned across states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan.

The ministry of mines has already facilitated the auction process by extending support from its offices — Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), Geological Survey of India (GSI) and PSUs like MSTC, Mecon Ltd, Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd (MECL) and SBI Caps.

Till now, 21 mineral blocks have been auctioned. States are required to indicate details of the status of such blocks to the Union mines ministry on issue of Letter of Intent (LoI), upfront payment if any, mining plan and preparedness for environment clearance and forest clearance. The ministry has developed a portal — Transparency, Auction Monitoring and Resource Augmentation (TAMRA) — which is being launched shortly.

According to the estimates of the Union mines ministry, these blocks, after auctions, have already fetched incremental revenue of Rs 47,551 crore. Total revenue from the auctioned blocks is expected to be in upwards of Rs 60,000 crore.

Auctions of mineral blocks have kicked off under the amended Mines & Minerals- Development & Regulation (MMDR) Act, doing away with the practice of discretionary allotments.

A report on achievements of the mining sector by the ministry and the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) says major policy interventions to promote exploration and enhance private sector participation has aided in mining sector's growth. Mineral production logged nine per cent growth in FY16, helped by increased production of iron ore (25.85 per cent) and chromite (25.9 per cent). Exports of iron ore and concentrates of copper and chrome also rose significantly last FY.

The amended MMDR Act has established the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) wherein lease holders are needed to contribute a sum equivalent to two per cent of the royalty to the NMET. Under NMET, Rs 201 crore has been deposited at the end of May 2016. The Centre has approved 13 mineral exploration projects in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Jharkhand.