By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Steel and Mines Department is expected to complete the auction of 14 mining blocks, including mostly Virgin blocks, by end of February. The Department was earlier targeted to complete it by end by January but it has been delayed for some weeks due to some technical reasons. “At best by end of February, all the 14 blocks would go under hammer and the process has already been started. Formal notification in this regard, will be issued soon,” officials manning Odisha Director of Mines said.
Of the 14, 13 of these blocks are virgin blocks, one block is a working mine.A total of 14 iron ore, manganese and composite blocks of iron and manganese have been listed for auction. It has been targeted to complete the auction process by January-end, said a senior government official.
These blocks include Garamurarh, Behera-Bhanjipali, Pipalmunda, Naringpanga, Uskalvagu, Pureibahal, Chandiposhi, Jhumka Parthiriposi, Dholtapahad, Netrabandhapahad (west), Gandhalpada, Kasia, Unchabali and Kalimati.
The 9 iron ore and manganese blocks ready for auction include Purheibahal, Chandiposhi, Gandhalpada, Netrabandha Pahar (west), Dholtapahar, Jumka Pathriposhi, Kalimati, Unchabali and Kasia. The Steel and Mines department has also decided to auction 5 other limestone and graphite mines.The estimated iron ore reserve in these blocks is 574 million tones located at Pureibahal (38.30 Million Tonnes), Chandiposhi (33.73 MT), Jhumka-Pathiriposi (114 MT), Dholtapahad (23.92 MT), Netrabandha Pahar-West (17.27 MT) in Sundaragarh district; and Rengalaberha-North-East (28.87 MT), Gandhalpada (314.37 MT), Unchabali (3.6 MT) and Kalimati in Kendujhar district. While Kalimati is a manganese block (0.686 MT) and Unchabali is a mix of iron and manganese, the rest blocks are iron ore. Iron ore is the raw material for steel production.
Leading merchant miners working under Joda-Koira-Sukinda mining circles of Odisha’s Keonjhar-Sundargarh and Jajpur, have geared up their preparations to participate in mining auction. Sources said Rungta Mines Limited Group, which had lost as many as 5 of its running blocks in last aution, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, Essel Mining and Industries Ltd, a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Group, too also lost a block, Serajuddin &Co, JSW Steel , which bagged as many as 4 major blocks, Vedanta, Tatas, Thriveni Earth Movers Pvt Ltd, and others also eyeing on these virgin blocks.
“Since it takes years for the successful bidders to get clearances from authorities of the state and central government to start mining operation, the government has decided to auction blocks with pre-embedded clearances (by obtaining all clearances). The move is aimed to promote ease of doing business in the mining sector and to make the auction process competitive,” said the official. As delay in commencement of mining operations lead to disruptions in production and dispatch leading to shortage of minerals for end-user industries and also trigger price rise, both the Centre and the state government focus on expediting operationalisation of auctioned blocks.
Early this year, Odisha Government had successfully auctioned at least 23 Iron, Manganese and Chrome Ore Blocks having resources worth Rs.4.87 Lakh Crore by 18 March, 2020. The State got one of the highest premiums like 144 percent in auction of one of its mineral blocks – Guali Iron Ore mines bagged by JSPL but the Naveen Jindal led firm not interest to resume operations while Government had asked OMC to look into it. Odisha is the highest steel producing State in the country and the production target is 100 million tonnes per annum by 2030.
