Odisha issues notification for auction of mineral blocks

The Odisha government today issued notification for auction of mineral blocks as per the provision of the amended MMDRA Act.
The notification issued by the director of mines under the Department of Steel and Mines, however, put only one iron ore block -- Ghoraburahani-Sagasahi East in Sundargarh district with a reserve of around 90 million tonne of iron ore, for auction in the first phase.
While auctions will be done as per guidelines listed under Mineral Auction Rules 2015, the state government reserves the right to decide the end use of a block.
Issuance of the notification also marked selling of the tender documents from today. The sale of documents will end on February 5, it said.

The required documents for e-auction of the lone iron ore block was approved by the central government, while the other identified block -- Jhunka-Patriposi, which is at the G3 exploration zone, is yet to get central nod.
This block will be offered in the form of a composite license -- prospecting license (PL) cum mining license (ML).

"The interested bidders will be asked to submit their queries, if any, by January 15 and a pre-bid conference will be held on January 20 in which transaction advisor, Principal Secretary of Steel and Mines Department will remain present and clarify their doubts.

"If any modification is required in tender documents as per their queries, it would be done by February 2," Director of Mines Deepak Mohanty told reporters.
Stating that the bidding report would be submitted to the Directorate of Mines by February 10, Mohanty said the department would require another 10 days for the technical evaluation of the bidding report. The auction process would be completed on March 20, he said.
Meanwhile, the state government has set up a committee under the development commissioner to monitor the auction process.