Vedanta declared preferred bidder for two copper mines in Maharashtra

The government of Maharashtra had invited bids for grant of two copper composite licenses on February 1, 2019 through e-auction

Vedanta Ltd on Tuesday said it has been declared as the preferred bidder for two copper mines in Maharashtra which went under the hammer earlier this year.

The copper blocks, namely Thanewasna and Dubarpeth, are in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra.

"The government of Maharashtra had invited bids for grant of two copper composite licenses (prospecting license cum mining leases) on February 1, 2019 through e-auction...The company participated in the forward e-auction and after being technically qualified, has been declared as the preferred bidder for these two blocks," Vedanta said in a filing to the BSE.

"The mines require extensive exploration and the process will commence in due course," it said.

Industry body FICCI had recently called for expediting auctions of mineral blocks with known or explored reserves, highlighting that the average of such auctions has nosedived to around 15 mines per year after the amendment in the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act.

To ensure transparency in the mineral sector, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill was passed by the Parliament in 2015.