Having received mixed response from non-coal mining auctions, the mines ministry is now considering softening the rules without amending the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015.
The mines ministry has already formed a committee which will have its first meeting tomorrow. Mineral-rich states have also been invited to take part in the meeting, mines secretary Arun Kumar told reports on the sidelines of an event, ‘Indian Mining Industry 2030-way Forward, organized by FICCI, in Delhi today.
Since the amendment of the MMDR, Amendment Act was passed in 2015, which paved the way for mandatory auctioning of the non-coal mines; only 29 mines could be successfully auctioned. These mines, however, have brought Rs 1.2 lakh crore of revenue to the states inclusive of royalty and contribution towards DMF and NMET. However, an almost equal number of auctions had to be annulled because of poor response from the bidders.
“We will try to make the rules more conducive. We will like to improve, but auction will always be the basic requirement, because the law will not change,” Kumar said without detailing much.
To a question on non-captive mining leases those will expire in March 2020, Kumar said that those would be auctioned as well. The Centre has already directed the states to ensure that these mines are properly explored. It has also directed the states to start the process of auctioning on those mines even towards the end of the lease period.
As per the existing rule, mine owners will have to do the exploration job at their own expenses. There are less than 100 such mines whose lease period is set to be expired in 2020 and these contribute around 18% of the total production.
Kumar said that the mines ministry has already empanelled 13 agencies which are eligible to bid for exploration of the mineral-bearing states. The ministry hopes to do the aero geo-physical exploration on over 7 lakh sq line Kms in the current fiscal.
Asked whether the mines ministry can emulate the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OLAP), as adopted by the ministry of petroleum and natural gas for gas exploration, he said, “We are keeping an open mind. However, exploration of petroleum and natural gas and mining exploration are two different issues.
The OLAP allows bidders to curve out areas where they want to drill.
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