Coal news and updates

No reservation for captive mining in MMDR Ordinance

January 13: There will be no reservations for separate auction of minerals following the approval of an Ordinance by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, on January 12, to amend the MMDR Act of 1957, a source in the Ministry of Mines told ICMW.

Unlike the reservation which is there for coal block auction, there will be no reservation for separate auction of minerals, including iron ore, manganese ore, bauxite and limestone.

“There will be auction of all the mineral blocks but no separate auction for end-users and merchant miners, including that for iron ore, manganese ore, bauxite and limestone. This will be applicable for all the minerals,” the source said.

“The new MMDR Act will not be along the lines of coal because the latter is primarily used in power generation in India,” the source said when asked whether there will be provisions for auction of the four mineral blocks for especially for captive consumption.

“There are many minerals in India which are not used within the country – graphite, for instance, which, whoever manufactures it, is never an end-user. Mica is another example,” the source said.

He pointed out that the so-called demand for reservation of blocks of other minerals for captive mining was mainly because of the spurt in iron ore prices due to closure of a large number of mines in the country in recent months.

“Iron ore is actually dominating the whole scenario. Except iron ore, no other mineral witnesses the fight of end-users or value-addition. So, for other minerals, we have not kept any provision for reservation but the government always has a right because of an enabling provision and, accordingly, it can have a say,” the source added.