Date | Aug 16, 2016:
Mines minister Piyush Goyal has called a meeting of mining industry associations on 18 August to take stock of issues plaguing the sector.
“The mining minister is going to meet industry associations including Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, Aluminium Association of India, Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers’ Association and others. Basic changes required in the mining sector will be discussed during the stakeholder meeting,” said mining secretary Balvinder Kumar.
The industry has raised the issue regarding waiving export tax on iron ore having iron content up to 62% with stockpile of around 162 million tonne (MT) lying in Jharkhand, Odisha and Karnataka.
The issue has been raised with the ministry of steel and will also be discussed with the minister in the meeting, Kumar said.
InfraCircle on 27 July reported that India’s ministry of mines has written to the ministry of steel recommending scrapping of the export duty on high-grade iron ore.
Goyal on 6 July, soon after taking charge of the ministry after a Cabinet reshuffle, had said that if mineral production in the country grows by 30-35% per year, it will contribute an additional one percentage point to the country’s gross domestic product in the next two-three years from the existing share of 2-2.5%.
Goyal also holds the additional portfolios of power, coal and new and renewable energy ministry.
The government, in the 2016-17 Union budget, removed the export duty on iron ore lumps and fines with iron content below 58%, but 30% export duty on high-grade iron ore with iron content above 58% was left untouched. Industry is now pressing for removal of export duty on iron ore up to 62% iron content.
The secretary further said that steps needed to increase country’s mineral production will also be discussed with all stakeholders in the meeting.
“One way to increase mineral production is to bridge the gap between the actual production of the mineral taking place and the capacity as per the approved mining plan. For example, in case of iron ore, the capacity as per the approved mining plan stands at 308 MT, while the current capacity of iron ore is 155 MT,” the mining secretary said.
InfraCircle on 8 July reported that the ministry of mines had asked Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) to provide details of mine-wise and mineral-wise capacity as per the mining plan. IBM is tasked with the conservation and rational use of mineral resources and works under the ministry of mines.
Experts, however, think that mining plan cannot be enforced in terms of business.
“Mining plan is a statutory requirement, but not a strategic document. As commodity prices are low, investors may not want to produce what it has been mentioned in the mining plan and try to conserve it for future use,” said Dipesh Dipu, partner at Jenissi Management Consultants, a Hyderabad-based energy and resources sector consulting firm.
On the back of higher production of iron ore and chromite, India’s overall mineral production during the first quarter of the current financial year has gone up 14% to 138.53 MT compared with 121.11 MT during the corresponding April-June period last year.
(Source: http://www.vccircle.com/)