Goa government suspended all mining activities on Tuesday and a day later
environment clearances (EC) of all the 93 mining leases in Goa by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) were suspended.
FIMI, Federation of Indian Minerals and Industries reported that this will further hamper exports of iron ore from India. Already exports have been negligible from other states of India.
“Goa was our only hope this year as it had no big cost on transporting iron ore from mine heads to the port. The ban on mining in Goa and cancellation of EC by MoEF will put the exports on the backburner. If the miners in Goa fail to get MoEF clearance within a month or two, then the exports will come down to a record low from India,” R K Sharma, Secretary General, Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) said.
During the monsoon months, iron ore fines are not produced and exported in big quantity. The period between October and March is the busy season for iron ore exporters. With the suspension of mining and EC of Goan miners, there cannot be more than 2-3 million tonne of exports during the busy season from Goa. Overall, our exports are likely to drop to an all-time low during the current year,” Basant Poddar, vice chairman, FIMI-South said.
Source : BS
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