Date | June 30, 2017:

The Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation (CMDC) will be creating appropriate dense green belt at its proposed Aridongri iron ore mining site in Kanker district, officials informed.

The top soil generated during mining will be temporarily stored in greenbelt area and will be used for backfilled area for plantation.

CMDC intends to sell iron ore produced from the proposed Aridongri mine in Kanker district of Bastar to steel/sponge iron units at Bhilai, Raipur and Raigarh on priority basis, officials informed.

Efforts are being made to increase the production so that sufficient quantity of iron ore is available for export after meeting the requirements of the expanding home market. Export of iron ore is necessary for earning the much needed foreign exchange, they informed.

The mining at Aridongri will be carried out by opencast mechanised method. The mining equipment required will be dozer, shovel/hydraulic excavator, dumpers, wagon drill. The project area is located near Kachhe village on Dalli-Rajhara-Bhanupratappur road.

It is also accessible by Dhamtari-Bhanupratappur road. The nearest railway station is Dalli-Rajhara situated about 30 km north from the area. Aridongri area is well connected with District Headquarter Kanker (Uttar Baster) by metalled road. The nearest airport is at Raipur.

CMDC is seeking environmental clearance for Aridongri iron ore project in 245 hectares of land falling under Bhaupratappur forest division of Kanker district in Bastar.

CMDC had completed exploration and preparation of geological report for Aridongri and Kabirdham iron ore projects, officials here stated.

Significantly, in the month of May 2015, Chief Minister Raman Singh had stated that minerals extracted in Chhattisgarh should be used for units located in the State on a priority basis. This will boost revenue collections and also increase job opportunities while addressing the 9th meeting of Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Fund Advisory Committee.

The meeting was organised by State Mineral Resources Department in which the Chief Minister was informed about various projects underway to explore minerals in the State.

The Chief Minister had emphasised the decision to undertake mineral prospecting work by Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation (CMDC) in the meeting.

Officials informed that in the 2015-16 fiscal, Bauxite exploration works were being undertaken in Pandariya Tahsil of Kabirdham and Murtunda of Surguja district.

Likewise, Bauxite prospecting is going on in Bamhtara village of Bodla Tehsil of Kabirdham district.

The Bauxite exploration work will be undertaken in Bhursipakri and Mukam of the same Tehsil. Both the projects were sanctioned during the meeting.

It was also informed that for effective management of minerals a web-based e-governance application ‘Chhattisgarh Integrated Mines and Mineral Management System’ is being developed. This application will be used to receive requests for various relaxations on minerals and timely disposal of applications.

The application will be helpful in providing e-permit, e-transit pass monitoring unified check post and weighing bridges along with checking of illegal mining.

It was also informed that district mineral foundations have been made in those districts where certain minerals are found. These foundations will carry on road construction, health and environment development and the development required at the local level.

The Directorate of Geology and Mining in Chhattisgarh had been the process of carrying out iron ore exploration in the notified areas of Kanker and Narayanpur districts of Bastar division.

The exploration target is for the 12th plan period (2012-17) and is being carried out in Rowghat and 10 other localities, officials stated.

The Chhattisgarh Government had targetted to carry out survey and mapping for 1,000 square kms of State’s area during 2015-16 for geological exploration during the 12th five year plan ( 2012-17).

The minerals to be explored as Bauxite, Limestone, Iron ore, Coal, Dolomite, Manganese and Granite, officials stated.

Notably, the Chhattisgarh Directorate of Geology and Mining had been engaged in exploration of mineral resources as well as minerals development and regulation work in the State.

The Directorate has the facility of remote sensing, cartography,survey, drilling and petrological techniques for geological investigations supported by the chemical laboratory (conventional and instrumental techniques of analyses) to assess the mineral resources. The mineral exploration works are being carried out through three Regional Offices, Raipur, Bilaspur and Jagdalpur, they stated.

The grant of mineral concession, collection of revenue and regulation of mineral concessions are underway through District Offices under the control of Collector, district concerned.

The Directorate also provides technical and legal advice, related with grant and regulation of mineral concession to the State Government.

Explorations had been promised for Bauxite in Dandkesra and Murdadand area of Surguja and Darai and Bhuski-Pakri/Pandripani area of Kabirdham districts (two areas), iron ore in notified areas of Kanker and Narayanpur districts and Pavaras and Kachhora area of Bastar district.

Moreover, explorations are being proposed for Limestone in Raipur, Rajnandgaon,Janjgir-Champa and Dantewada districts, Manganese in Raipur district, Dolomite in Janjgir-Champa district, Granite in Kanker, Bastar and Narayanpur districts, Coal in Saidu area and West of Mainpat Plateau of Surguja district.

Chhattisgarh is set to earn estimated revenue of Rs51,596 crore from its five mines auctioned among 29 in the country under the provisions of Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 during the mining lease period, officials stated.

Chhattisgarh — a mineral rich State had 7.48 per cent share in total value of mineral production in the country during 2014-15, according to the 2014-15 annual report of the Union Ministry of Mines.

As per the report, Rajasthan had share of 11.49 per cent, Gujarat (8.85 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (8.25 per cent), Chhattisgarh (7.48 per cent) followed by Jharkhand (7.37 per cent), Odisha (6.38 per cent), Maharashtra ( 5.35 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (4.70 per cent), West Bengal (4.32 per cent), Assam (4.04 per cent), Karnataka (2.96 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh (2.72 per cent).

The remaining States and Union Territories having individual share of less than 2.5 per cent all together accounted for remaining of total value of mineral production during the year under review, the report stated.

State-wise analysis revealed that during 2014-15, the value of mineral production have shown a mixed trend as compared to the previous year.

The States which have indicated an increase in the value of mineral production are — Tripura (14.3 per cent), Karnataka (1.6 per cent), Bihar (6.6 per cent), Himachal Pradesh (16.5 per cent), Mehgalaya ( 61.6 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (0.8 per cent) and Chhattisgarh (0.7 per cent).

During 2014-15, mineral production was reported from 33 States and union territories which is actual reporting from Mineral Conservation and Development Rules (MCDR) and fuel minerals from 23 States and estimation of minor minerals for all the 32 states and union territories of which the bulk of value of mineral production of about 94.18 per cent was confined to 13 states (including off shore areas) only, it stated.

Offshore areas are in leading position in terms of value of mineral production in the country and had the share of 20.27 per cent in the national output, the report stated.

(Source: http://www.dailypioneer.com/)