August 04,
The Karnataka Government’s move to ban the export of Iron ore as well as suspension of permits to transport Iron ore has had a ripple effect in the state.
- The operations of as many as 30 export-oriented units have come to halt in Karnataka as over 1 million tonnes of Iron ore is lying idle at various ports causing a foreign exchange loss of around Rs 300 crore in the last one week.
- In addition to this, the freight loss to the Indian Railways is in the order of Rs 80 crore and Rs 40 crore for truckers for moving the cargo from the mines to various ports.
- The mining companies are losing lakhs of rupees as charges for holding up ships at the ports. For each day’s delay they have to pay $20,000 as demurrage charges.
Apart from the economic loss, there are environmental issues as well. The mining companies are presently stocking over 6 million tonnes of Iron ore fines at their mines which cannot be stored for long as it may get into the atmosphere through air and water leading to greater damage to the environment.
So if the State Government does not revoke its order, the industry will be forced to file a case in the court to get it revoked, said Shantesh Gureddi, Chairman, FIMI, Southern Region.
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