Mining Industry

Mining case: Complaint against me politically motivated, says Kumaraswamy

He said that investigations regarding mining cases against him have been ongoing for 12 years

CIL plans to monetise 4 old washeries, aimed at long term supply contract

State-owned Coa India Ltd is exploring options to monetise its four old washeries by leasing out those assets and plans to bundle lease contracts with long-term coal supply agreements. The move aims at optimising asset utilisation. "We are exploring the monetisation of four old washeries," Coal India Ltd (CIL) said in a report. The company which accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output is diversifying its portfolio by setting up a non-coking coal washery at Ib Valley, Lakhanpur in Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) -- one of the subsidiaries of CIL. The public sector enterprise commissioned the operation of Madhuband Washery having 5 million tonnes of annual capacity during 2023-24 to further enhance coking coal beneficiation capacity. The company is also setting up three new washeries in Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) -- another arm of CIL -- with a total throughput capacity of seven million tonnes per annum. Besides, five coking coal washeries with a total capacity of 14

Coromandel International to acquire additional 8.82% stake in BMCC

Agro-chemicals firm Coromandel International on Wednesday announced the acquisition of an additional 8.82 per cent equity stake in Senegal-based rock phosphate mining company BMCC through its wholly-owned subsidiary. With this, the company's overall shareholding in Baobab Mining and Chemicals Corporation (BMCC) will increase to 53.8 per cent. "Coromandel will invest USD 3.84 million (Rs 32 core) in BMCC, besides a loan infusion of USD 6.5 million (Rs 54 crore) to fund expansion projects and meet working capital requirements," Coromandel International said in a statement. Rock phosphate is a critical raw material for manufacturing Phosphoric Acid, an intermediate used for Phosphatic fertiliser production. BMCC, incorporated in 2011, has a renewable exploitation permit for processing phosphate ore and Coromandel acquired a 45 per cent stake in September 2022. The company has since stabilised mining operations and is currently commissioning a fixed processing plant to optimise rock ..

GCCI seeks urgent review of Supreme Court's mineral taxation ruling

The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries (GCCI) has demanded an urgent review of the mineral taxation ruling by the Supreme Court, stating that the increased cost of mining will inevitably lead to higher prices for essential commodities, including steel, power and cement. The Supreme Court last month allowed states to collect past dues on royalty on minerals bearing land from the Centre and mining companies from April 1, 2005 onwards. "The imposition of further taxes/ cess/ levies, if any, as permitted by the ruling, will further impact the economics of mining operations possibly making it unviable with its natural consequences. Additionally, the increased cost of mining will inevitably lead to higher prices for essential commodities e.g., steel, power, cement, etc. further fuelling inflation and consequential impact on the nation's economy," GCCI said in a statement. The possible impact would be a change of goalpost particularly when the auction regime is in vogue post enactment

India set to kick off its first offshore mineral auction: Mines Secretary

He encouraged the industry to study the exploration reports of these blocks and bring in interested domestic and international players

India's coal output grows significantly, up 5.85% at 411.6 MT in FY25

The country's coal output grew 5.85 per cent to 411.62 million tonnes (MT) in the current fiscal year (up to September 12), over the year-ago period. This country's coal production was 388.86 MT during the same period last year. "This marks a significant increase... reflecting a commendable growth rate of 5.85 per cent, despite adverse climatic conditions that challenged mining operations," the coal ministry said in a statement. The figures are provisional. The production by state-owned Coal India Ltd rose to 311 MT during the same period, marking a growth of 2.80 per cent compared to 302.53 MT in the corresponding period of the previous year. This growth is even more notable given the interruptions in mining activities in CIL subsidiaries due to heavy rains, it said. Coal dispatch has also experienced a substantial uplift, reaching 442.24 MT during 2024-25 (up to September 12), compared to 421.29 MT in the same period last year, it said, adding that this reflects a robust growth

Centre seeks review of SC verdict allowing states to levy mining cess

The Centre has also reportedly roped in the state of Madhya Pradesh as a co-petitioner to review the July 25 judgment in an open court hearing

Vedanta Resources gets $900 mn via first dollar bond issue to prepay loans

Vedanta Resources, the parent firm of mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd, on Wednesday raised USD 900 million in its first dollar bond issue in more than two years to prepay existing bonds. In a statement, the firm said it has raised UDS 900 million at a coupon rate of 10.875 per cent in the five-year US dollar-denominated bond. "The net proceeds from the offering of the bonds will be used to repay certain of Vedanta's existing bonds (including any accrued interest thereto) and to pay any related transaction costs in connection thereto," it said. This is the first US dollar bond issued by Vedanta since February 2021. The bond received final orders of USD 1.45 billion from investors across the globe representing an oversubscription of over 1.6 times, reinforcing the confidence of these investors in the Vedanta story, the statement said. "The final allocation of the bonds represented the broad-based support which Vedanta enjoys, including 41 per cent from Asia, 24 per cent from EMEA an

Revenue implication of Rs 4,162 cr as Odisha's iron-ore grade declined: CAG

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) which conducted an audit of six iron-ore mines in Odisha has observed that after the auction of the selected mines, there was an "abrupt and abnormal decline in the grade of iron-ore and its classification", as reported by new lessees. "The decline of grade of iron ore has resulted in a revenue implication of approximately Rs 4,162.77 crore for the financial years 2020-21 and 2021-22 in the form of lesser royalty and premium (post auction)", the CAG said in its report No 6 of the year 2024, which was laid before the Odisha Assembly on Wednesday. Though more than 83 per cent production was reported in the grade of 62-65 per cent Fe (iron) in the pre-auction period, the same came down to approximately 16 per cent in the two years after auction (2020-2022), it said. Similarly, the auditor said, the share of grades 60 per cent Fe and below went up from approximately 11 per cent of total production to more than 60 per cent of total ...

NLC India aims to start early mining of Odisha's Machhakata coal block

State-owned NLC India Ltd is aiming to start the mining of Machhakata coal block in Odisha ahead of schedule. Machhakata coal block is the second commercial coal block and the biggest among the NLCIL's mining projects. NLC India Ltd (NLCIL) had emerged as the successful bidder for Machhakata (Revised) coal block in Angul district of Odisha under the commercial coal block e-auction held in July. The Machhakata coal block, having reserves of 1.4 billion tonnes (BT), with average Grade of G10-G11, and capacity of 30 MTPA, is expected to be one among the top five biggest mines in the country, NLCIL said in a statement. "NLCIL aims to commence the mining ahead of schedule. This marks another milestone towards realising NLCIL's Corporate Plan 2030," the statement added. Machhakata Coal Block's vesting order was issued on Thursday. The company had earlier said that it is committed to its capacity addition in line with its vision of achieving more than 100 million tonnes per annum (MTPA)

SC ruling on royalties to affect profitability of mining companies: Moody's

Moody's Ratings has said the Supreme Court ruling on royalties and taxes will be credit negative for mining companies like Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, and Vedanta Resources Ltd, as it will dent their cash flows and affect their profitability. In a major victory for mineral-rich states, the Supreme Court had on August 14 allowed them to seek dues from April 1, 2005 on royalty and tax on mineral rights and mineral-bearing land from the Centre in a staggered period of 12 years. "The retrospective taxes are credit negative for companies with mining operations in India such as Tata Steel Ltd (Baa3 stable), UltraTech Cement Ltd (Baa3 stable), JSW Steel Ltd (Ba1 stable) and Vedanta Resources Ltd (Caa3 negative) because the instalment payments will dent their cash flows," Moody's Ratings said in a statement. "These companies will have to pay state taxes going forward that will hurt their profitability," it said. "While the companies' retrospective taxes could be significant, the effect o

Volume rebound, moderate valuation positive for mining major NMDC

NMDC spent Rs 400 crore on capex in Q1 against the annual target of Rs 2,200 crore for FY25

SC verdict to hit mining firms; Tata Steel, JSW Steel to see lower profits

Tata Steel, JSW Steel, and other companies may see higher costs and reduced profitability from new state-imposed mining taxes, leading to inflation, following a Supreme Court decision

Local manufacturing will offer 25K cr annual opportunity for vendors: ICRA

Currently, India imports nearly 50 per cent of its component requirement (by value) from suppliers based out of China, Japan, and South Korea, among others

Govt makes offshore mineral rules stricter but eases awarding process

The mines ministry has identified 10 offshore mineral blocks for potential auction and is holding inter-ministerial consultation to secure approval

Mining companies' operating costs could surge after SC ruling, says Fitch

India's top court late last month upheld the right for state governments to levy taxes on minerals extraction and last week allowed them to do so retrospectively

Best of BS Opinion: Legal system reform, Crimes against women and more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Retrospective taxes set to cost mining industry Rs 1.5 trillion in arrears

Nifty Metal index dropped by 2.4%, and key players like NMDC, Hindustan Copper, and JSW Steel saw their shares fall between 2% and 6% following the SC judgment on Wednesday

Provisioned, expect limited impact from SC's ruling, say metal majors

Mining industry hit estimated at Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 trillion, companies to closely watch states for next move

SC ruling on mining royalty to impact industry with Rs 2 trillion arrears

Industry experts say that the retrospective tax ruling will have a ripple effect on supply chain part of other industries as well