Goa: 13 firms likely to take part in ore e-auction on May 27

PANAJI: Thirteen companies are likely to participate in the directorate of mines and geology’s e-auctioning of around 2.5 million tonne iron ore lying at jetties and plots on May 27.
A senior officer in the mines department said that the mining companies and traders that had participated in the last e-auction are likely to bid this time too.
The officer said that the mining companies’ EMD (Earnest Money Deposit) is valid and are eligible to participate in the e-auctioning.
The state government is hoping to generate Rs 100 crore revenue from the e-auction whereas mining company officers said that they may not bid for the ore as they would have to invest and wait till the monsoon is over to export the ore.
“By the time all the processes are completed to start transportation of ore, monsoon will hit the state and thereafter it would be difficult to do shipment,” a mining company officer said.
The ore is currently lying at different plots across the state, including Pale, Rivona, Collem, Advalpal, etc, and varies from low grade to high grade.
In 2012, a Supreme Court judgment had declared mining after 2007 illegal. Ore lying at jetties and plots was subsequently declared state property. The government then identified 15 million tonne ore lying at jetties and plots, of which around 12 million tonne has been e-auctioned.
In March 15, 2018, mining in Goa came to a halt following a SC order quashing the second renewal of 88 mining leases. In January 2020, the apex court permitted export of ore extracted before March 15, 2018.
In March, after a two-year hiatus, mining companies resumed transportation of royalty-paid iron ore in the state. Around six mining companies have got permission from both the directorate of mines and geology and the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) to transport ore.
There is 1.45 million tonne of royalty-paid ore which the companies have started transporting and there is also another 7.7 million tonne on which royalty has not been paid, an official said.