Jamshedpur | Feb 09, 2017: Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL), a public sector enterprise, is likely to participate in Momentum Jharkhand with the hope of resumption of work at its Jaduguda mine soon. For two years, UCIL has been chasing the environment and forest department clearnce for resumption of mining at Jaduguda mine.

The central government unit said it can only expect for receiving the approval for resumption of mining sometime soon. "The process is underway and we can only expect the process to be complete at the earliest for resuming mining work. However, we cannot speak about the timeframe," UCIL spokesperson Stanley Hembram said, adding that UCIL is participating in Momentum Jharkhand with a "positive frame of mind".

Hembram said though the chase for the green signal from the central agencies continues, the investors' summit is a separate issue.

Mining work at Jaduguda has been suspended since September 2014 after the Union mines ministry called for stopping the excavation being carried out under deemed extension. Though the then chief minister Hemant Soren had 'in principle' approved the mining lease renewal in October 2014 subject to clearance from the environment and forest department, the impasse has not ended yet.

Explaining the delay in the approval, a senior UCIL official said, "It took us more than year to get the files cleared by the forest department at the state level. We have spent another year seeking approval from the forest department in Delhi."

Regarded as UCIL's engine, the 1350-acre Jaduguda mine last recorded daily production of 800 tonnes of ore in September 2014. With a depth of nearly 3,000ft the mine has been identified as one of the deepest underground mines of the country.

(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)