Indian Sponge iron manufacturers hold offers amid crucial hearing of the Supreme Court to be held on 28 Apr, 2014. This hearing is in context to deemed renewal of several mines operating across the country.
The recent Supreme Court ruling on mining in Goa, holding that deemed mining licenses can be valid for not more than 20 years. Miners fear that they may face temporary closure notice, which will be decided on crucial hearing by the Supreme Court on 28 Apr, 2014.
According to reports, 8 mines had been operating for 15-20 years without lease renewal, 35 mines were operating for 10-15 years, 43 mines operating for 5-10 years and 14 mines were operating for 5 years or less without lease renewal in Odisha. Most of these mines have been also operating without environmental clearances, which has been made mandatory for mines running under deemed renewal as per the letter of the union mines ministry dated 18 May, 2011.
Odisha is the largest producer of Iron ore in the country, which produces around 38 MnT for merchant sales and 27 MnT for captive consumption.
What is Deemed Renewal?
Under Section 24-A (6) of Mineral Concession Rules (MCR) 1960, if a miner has applied for lease renewal a year before the expiry and the state government fails to make renewal applications within due date, the miner will be considered to be operating under extension of lease validity.
“There are fair chances that government may suspend some mining operations in Odisha and resume it when things are cleared. A lot will depend on the Supreme Court’s hearing. Quite a lot of mines in Odisha are operating under deemed renewal. This will impact supply of Iron ore to a great extent,” said a Sponge manufacturer based in West Bengal.
On similar lines, a merchant miner mentioned that things are critical in Odisha, there are handful number of mines which are not operating under deemed renewal. You never know, what the consequences will be.
Indian Sponge Iron (C-DRI) & Pellet Sponge (P-DRI) Prices as on 25 Apr, 2014
|
Region |
City |
Grade (FeM) |
C-DRI in INR |
USD Price |
P-DRI in INR |
USD Price |
|
East India |
Rourkela |
78-80 |
19,900 |
$326 |
19,200 |
$314 |
|
Durgapur* |
78-80 |
20,500 |
$336 |
19,300 |
$316 |
|
|
Central India |
Raipur* |
80 |
21,900 |
$359 |
20,400 |
$334 |
|
Raigarh* |
79-80 |
21,000 |
$344 |
19,600 |
$321 |
|
|
South India |
Bellary |
75 |
19,600 |
$321 |
18,900 |
$309 |
Basic prices ; Excise duty @12.36%; VAT as applicable
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