Goa govt completes first round of iron ore mining block auction

Four businesses won bids to harvest ore from various mineral-rich regions of the coastal state after the Goa government finished the first part of its auction of mining blocks, an official said. The state's iron ore mining business will resume in the state as a result of the e-auctioning procedure that the Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) of the state performed. Following the Supreme Court's cancellation of 88 mining leases in 2018, the sector, which once accounted for a significant portion of the state's revenue, came to a complete halt. The mining block auction's initial stage is now concluded. The victorious bidders, a top DMG official, are given all four blocks. He said that Vedanta Limited had won the bid for the Bicholim-Mulgao mining block in North Goa, which has an iron ore deposit of more than 84 million tonnes. Shirigao-Mayem mining Block in North Goa was won by Salgaocar Shipping Company Pvt Ltd in a competitive bid. He claimed that the mine's mineral reserves were more than 24 million tonnes. The Monte-de-Sirigao mining block in North Goa, which has 10 million tonnes of ore available for extraction, was won by Goa's Rajaram Bandekar Pvt Ltd, according to the official Sociedade De Fomento Industries Private Limited won the fourth Block, which includes Kalay Mines (South Goa). He claimed that the mine's 75 hectare undeveloped lease area contains 16.731 million tonnes of iron ore. On September 30, 2022, the Directorate of Mines and Geology issued a tender invitation for an electronic auction for four mining blocks: Kalay Mine in Sanguem Taluka, Mulgao, Sirigao-Mayem, and Monte-de-Sirigao, all of which are located in the Bicholim Taluka. See also: Goa requests MoF to levy nil export duty on low-grade iron ore NMDC gets LoI for Bailadila iron ore mine in Chhattisgarh