Margao | Sept 07, 2015: Regional Controller of Mines, Dr Y B Kale, has said that the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), Goa office, has received altogether 55 modified mining plans and schemes of mining for approval and the office has so far approved 25 such plans and schemes of mining.

“Five are in the initial stage, while the other plans are yet to be inspected,” said Kale, who looks after 16 districts – seven each of Maharashtra and Karnataka besides the two districts of Goa.

Modified mining plans are required to be submitted by the mining companies in the office of the regional controller of mines for obtaining approval with regard to changes in the area of production of ore. The mine owners are required to submit the modified plans as per the decision of the Supreme Court, which allowed an annual cap of 20 million tonnes of iron ore to be extracted from the state thus reducing the production.

Mining in Goa was stopped both by the state government as well as the central government in 2012 following a Rs 35,000 crore illegal mining scam which was unearthed by a judicial commission appointed by the Union mines ministry, before the Supreme Court eventually banned all mining activity in the same year and instituted a probe by its own Empowered Committee. The ban was eventually lifted last year, but mining still could not be restarted because of pending green clearances. From the 80-plus mining leases, which have been renewed by the state government, Vedanta Resource’s Sesa iron ore mining company is the first outfit to restart mining operations in the state.

Even though the mining plans submitted in 2006 had been manually approved, due to the recent changes in mining after the apex court-constituted committee’s decisions, the mining plans are required to be surveyed strictly through Digital Global Positioning Survey (DGPS). As the DGPS shows even the minor ground changes in a lease, the mining companies are required to submit the modified plans for approval, said Kale. He said that the schemes of mining submitted by the companies give detailed proposed plans of the leaseholders for the next five years.

“After examining the technical aspects of the proposals and after focussing on resources, reservoir positions and the future exploration aspects, mining designs and parameters, dumping of waste, other such aspects and progressive mine closure plan, the office grants the approval to the mining firms,” said Kale.

He said the mining firms simultaneously also need to obtain permissions from the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB), which strictly monitors the air and water conditions as one of the requirements for giving the environmental clearance. Besides, the leaseholders are also required to approach other authorities to obtain the final renewal licence from the state government.

Kale said the objective of the IBM is to promote systematic and scientific development of mineral resources in the country through regulatory inspection of the mines, approval of mining plans and environment management plans to ensure minimal adverse impact on the environment.

According to sources, mining is likely to resume in the state from October.

(Source: http://goacom.com/)