Industry wants removal of ban on stacking of ore outside mines

The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) today sought urgent lifting of the ban on dumping or stacking of ore outside the mining sites, which it said hinders the reopening of iron ore mines.
Addressing a conference on raw materials and security for iron and steel here, FIMI president H Noor Ahmed also raised the issue of obstacles created by the state governments.
"One of the important issues highlighted earlier too remains with regard to the ban on dumping or stacking of ore and overburden (soil overlying mineral deposits) outside the mining lease area. This stipulation is coming in the way of reopening of the existing iron mines, particularly in Goa, Karnataka and Odisha," Ahmed said.

Ahmed blamed "lackadaisical approach" of state governments for the shortage of domestic iron ore faced by the pellet manufacturers and other consumers.
In Odisha, he said, the government does not allow sale of more than half the production outside the state. "Consumption of ore by the steel sponge iron or pellet industry in Odisha is around 25-30 million tonnes though the iron ore industry has environmental clearance to produce around 200 million tonnes," he said.
In Karnataka, he said, the state government was "deliberately not executing the mining leases and putting various unreasonable demands on the industry".

"The result is that the industry is not able to increase the production which has created a mismatch in demand and supply resulting in import of iron ore by some steel companies last year and this year," he said.

Speaking later, Union Minister of State for Mines Vishnu Deo Sai, who also attended the conference, said the government was committed to its target of raising the steel production to 300 million tonnes by 2025. "We will do what we can to achieve these targets," he said.
Current crude steel production is at around 88 million tonnes.