Supreme Court has put off
until January 20 hearing an appeal against its partial ban of iron ore mining in
a key producing state, possibly delaying resumption of full supplies from a
region contributing a quarter of the country's exports.
India is the world's No. 3
exporter of iron ore, after Australia and Brazil, with any change in supplies
from the southern Karnataka state where mining is now partially banned
impacting global prices of the steel-making commodity.
Earlier this year, the court
banned iron ore mining in three districts of southern Karnataka state citing
environmental concerns and asked a federal government body to carry out an
environmental impact assessment.
It later allowed state-run NMDC
to mine up to one million tonne per month from its captive mines in the state
while making a final decision on the matter.
The federal government body, the
Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), has reportedly
recommended restricting iron ore mining in the state to 30 million tonnes per
year for local consumption.
On Friday, the court asked
petitioners against its ban to go through the ICFRE report and come back for a
hearing on Jan. 20, said Supreme Court officials.
Source: The Economic Times
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