State-owned, Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL), has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Directorate of Mines & Geology (DMG), Government of Goa, offering integrated mineral exploration and consultancy services.
In a statement, the Ministry of Mines said that with the signing of MoU, MECL will assess mineral resources by conducting an array of geoscientific exploration and will finalise the mineral blocks to be auctioned and establish the state’s mineral inventory.
Notably, the recent amendments to the MMDR Amendment Act 2021, Mineral (Auction) Second Amendment Rules, 2021 and Minerals (Evidence of Mineral Contents) Amendment Rules will further pave the way for states to fast track the auction process of their mineral acreages, thus making the role of DMG, Government of Goa pivotal in the process of assessment and allocation of their mineral acreages.
As per the ministry, the State of Goa has been bestowed with large deposits of Iron Ore (1,456 Million Tonnes) as well as the significant occurrence of other major minerals like Bauxite (55 Million Tonnes) and Manganese Ore (34 Million Tonnes). Iron Ore mining in the state hugely contributes to the regional income and employment in the state. Goa also has an intrinsic logistic environment for the export of minerals due to the availability of ports near the mining site.
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