Geonesis Volume 2 issue 9 august 2015

Geonesis
AUGUST 2015
(A GEMCO KATI INITIATIVE)
Indian Mining & Exploration Updates
VOLUME 2,ISSUE 9
OPEN SKY POLICY FOR EXPLORERS...

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 9 — AUGUST 2015
Page 1
Though GSI and MECL are doing their best, yet the net area
where mineralisation is possible will have to be ascertained,”
mines minister Narendra Singh Tomar told The Indian Express
last week. Tomar reasoned that while government agencies will
continue to perform the tasks assigned to them, the private sector
will be roped in for reconnaissance and exploration. In the
amended mining Act, the govern-
ment has mandated creation of a
non-profit body called national
mineral exploration trust (NMET)
to promote regional and detailed
exploration. The holder of a mining
lease or a prospecting licence-cum-
mining lease would compulsorily
pay to the NMET, a sum equivalent
to 2 per cent of the royalty.
A top official of his ministry said
adopting an open sky policy on
this issue is a viable way to rope in
more investment in the sector and
extensive consultations with vari-
ous stakeholders including indus-
try bodies like the CII is being held currently
. Conscious that the open sky policy may not fructify without
incentives, the 12th Plan Working Group of the ministry had rec-
ommended encouraging equity investment in joint ventures for
exploration promoted by domestic firms and participation by
‘Junior ‘ exploration companies specialising in advanced geo-
physical methodologies
OPEN SKY POLICY: MINES MIN TO ROPE IN PRIVATE FIRMS FOR EXPLORATION
There is a growing realisation within the ministry that unless
exploration is promoted there would be few non-coal mining
leases left for future auctions
In a first, the Union mines ministry is zeroing on an “open sky”
policy to promote mineral exploration by roping in private
explorers and allowing seamless prospecting of minerals except
the strategic ones.
The ministry is likely to recommend
issuance of exploration bonds to
private players on the lines of infra-
structure bonds. The earlier mining
law, which was amended in March
this year mandates auctions as the
sole route for granting mining con-
cessions, but poor investment in
mineral exploration continues to
plague the sector resulting in the
government’s over dependence on
the state-run exploration firms like
Geological Survey of India (GSI) and
mineral exploration corporation lim-
ited (MECL). There is a growing
realisation within the ministry that unless exploration is pro-
moted there would be few non-coal mining leases left for future
auctions. Of the 199 leases identified for e-auctions, some may
need further exploration, a ministry official said.
“The quantum of investment in exploration remains a concern
for my ministry and we have aimed to increase it to the extent
possible through private participation in a transparent manner.
GOVERNMENT TARGETS AUCTIONS OF 120 GREENFIELD MINES THIS FISCAL
The Modi government is aiming to conclude auctions for 120
greenfield mines bearing major minerals by the end of this fi-
nancial year in two phases, the first of which is expected to
start in October.
The Centre is betting that this will revive the moribund mining
sector, which contracted for three years in a row between 2011-
12 and 2013-14 and grew at a marginal 1.4 per cent in 2014-15.
The sector has been caught in a crossfire of scams, court judg-
ments cancelling leases and
uncertain environmental
norms, forcing India Inc to
import critical raw material
such as iron ore. States in-
cluding Odisha, Gujarat and
Chhattisgarh are competing
to be first off the block in
the auctions for the mines,
which will be allotted to the
highest bidder under a new law cleared by Parliament in
March. "We are helping and facilitating the states in the process
and believe around 120 mines would be ready for auction this
financial year," Mines Secretary Balvinder Kumar told ET. "Many
states are at the threshold and have begun surveys to mark out
boundaries and fix the reserve price for individual mines."
The Modi government has assigned top priority to expediting
mineral auctions to be undertaken by the states. Kumar, who took
charge at the ministry earlier this month, has visited seven states
to set the ball rolling. By next month, I would have covered all
states with significant mineral resources," he said. "The states and
Centre are on the same page
about the auction rules and
tender documents...now
everything is clear. We are
moving fast in this direc-
tion... the trend (in the sec-
tor) will change once these
mines start operating."
Rajasthan has identified 61
mines of different minerals
for the first set of auctions, followed by Chhattisgarh (21), Odisha
(16), Jharkhand (10) and Gujarat (six).

Page 2
Corporation Ltd to conduct the auctions, based on an advisory
from the Centre.
To expedite the process, the Union Mines ministry has shared
geological exploration reports for these untapped mineral riches
with the states free of cost, marking a departure from the past,
when such data was sold at a high price.
NO MONETARY INCENTIVES FOR MINERAL EXPLORATION
The government has decided not to give any kind of monetary
incentive or relaxation concerning mineral rights to the owners
of non-exclusive reconnaissance permit(NERP) – which is re-
quired for preliminary mineral exploration – in case he finds
some data.
According to the recently notified Mineral (NERP) Rules, 2015,
the NERP holder will have to submit the data with the state
government so that the latter can initiate the auction process
for mining licence (ML) or composite licence (prospecting li-
cence-cum-ML).
The state governments will be auctioning the mine for compo-
site licence in case G3 level exploration has been done by
NERP holder. A mining lease can be auctioned only after G2
level exploration.
The rules explicitly state that the NERP holder shall not be
entitled to make any claim for such composite licence or ML
on the basis of NERP.
Earlier, there was the provision that the RP holder, if he finds
any data, will have the first right to apply for prospecting li-
cence and then ML.
Moreover, the rules are silent on reimbursing these holders fi-
nancially for the money spent on exploration.
“Not many people will spend money in exploring unknown
areas, when the chance of getting a return is much less than
even in the past (when they could at least get prospecting and
mining rights),” said S Vijay Kumar, former mining secretary.
“I cannot imagine DeBeers or Rio Tinto spending millions of
dollars, and handing the data to, say, the state government of
Chhattisgarh, and asking them to conduct an auction for the
diamond prospect they may have found!” he added.
The Centre has renewed its focus on exploration as India’s ex-
plored area is minuscule to its obvious geological potential
(OGP).
Consequently, as the state governments do not have good quali-
ty mineral data at present, they are worried that they will not
get good prices during auction.
According to the data shared by the ministry of mines, of a total
land area of 3.28 million sq km, around 570,000 sq km has OGP.
As of 2012, according to the ministry, only 5,046 sq km was un-
der mineral lease, less than one per cent of the OGP. Earlier, the
government had brought the rules regarding NERP in the draft
Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2015.
However, the final auction rules did not have any mention of
NERP as the government needed more time for discussion.
Now, the government has separately notified the Mineral
(NERP) Rules, 2015, which are not much different to the ones
proposed in the draft auction rules.
Apart from focusing on NERP, the central government has also
introduced draft rules for setting up of National Mineral Explo-
ration Trust (NMET) for which the miners would be paying an
amount equivalent to two percent of royalty paid to the govern-
ment.
The government has also notified some of its companies for
exploration work. “Apart from NMDC and MECL, we have
appointed central public sector undertakings such as SAIL,
RINL, KIOCL and MIOL as well as state PSUs from Chhattis-
garh and Madhya Pradesh for exploration work. We are increas-
ing exploration with their help. If there is better data available,
even states will get more revenue in auctions,” Union Mines
Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had said earlier in an interview
to Business Standard.
While most of the mines are for iron ore, bauxite, dolomite
and limestone, Rajasthan is also expected to bid out a gold
mine. By next month, the government will have a rough esti-
mate of how much mineral wealth could be unlocked from
these mines
Most states have engaged merchant banker SBI Capital Mar-
kets and Nagpur-based public sector firm Mineral Exploration
GROUNDBREAKING
 According to recently notified NERP Rules,
the holder will have to submit the data with the
state government so that auction-processes
can be initiated for mining licence (ML) or com-
posite licence
 The state governments will be auctioning
the mine for composite licence in case G3 level
exploration has been done by NERP holder
 The rules state that the NERP holder shall
not be entitled to make any claim for such com-
posite licence or ML on the basis of NERP
The Centre has renewed its focus on explora-
tion as India’s explored area is minuscule to
its obvious geological potential (OGP)

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value can be estimated, not for exploring a mineral where the
extent and value of the deposits lying underground are yet to be
ascertained.
Then there are inherent uncertainties associated with the discov-
ery and exploitation of mineral deposits and very low success
ratio of discovery becoming a profitable mine.
Also, mineral exploration requires long-term engagement of pro-
fessional mining companies (prospectors) involving sophisticat-
ed technology and large capital. Sometimes, three or four pro-
spectors work in an area before the reserves are proved and
someone decides to develop the mine.
In these circumstances, opening
mineral resources to auction may
help speculative (but unprofession-
al) bidders who seek to realise maxi-
mum profit at the cost of scientific
development of mineral deposits
and environmental sustainability.
It is for these reasons that no major
mining nation uses competitive bid-
ding or auction for allocating miner-
al resources.
Additionally, in our country, most minerals found near the sur-
face and easily extractable - the amending law's 'notified' or bulk
minerals like iron ore, manganese and bauxite - have been ex-
plored and are now being exploited. The priority in exploration
now has to be on base and precious metals - such as copper, zinc,
lead, nickel, gold and platinum-group of minerals - lying in diffi-
cult terrain and greater depth below the surface. Many of these
metals are essential to a range of new and 'green' technologies, in
greater demand worldwide. The government and semi-
government agencies that mostly do exploration (of surface min-
erals) in India do not have the resources, expertise and advanced
technology required for the purpose. The capital-intensive na-
ture of developing new sites involves great risk, which only pro-
fessional (foreign) companies can undertake; and their explora-
tion is focussed on specific mineral commodities with priorities
determined by the price trend of minerals.
The auction method is inappropriate for these companies and
their explorations. To claim that their concerns can be overcome
by production or revenue sharing is to betray a lack of basic
knowledge of the nature of mineral exploration.
(continued on page 4)...
Using its brute majority in the Lok Sabha and by winning over
the regional parties in the Rajya Sabha, primarily by dangling
the lollipop of additional resource allocation to the states, the
National Democratic Alliance government has been able to
steamroll its Mines and Minerals (Development and Regula-
tion) Bill, 2015, into law. Even the Rajya Sabha select commit-
tee on the subject was not spared; it was hustled into submit-
ting its report within seven days.
The only people who seem to be happy are the beneficiaries of
captive mining, a practice that has distorted the growth of the
mining industry in India, prevented the development of
world-class mining com-
panies in our country and
has off and on resulted in
mining scams, the latest
being the one on coal block
allocations under the Unit-
ed Progressive Alliance
government. Besides, since
the leases of the captive
miners will expire at the
end of the prescribed peri-
od of 15 years - five years
for non-captive miners - the focus of the existing leaseholders
will now be on extracting as much good quality ore as possible
without so much as concern for scientific mining or environ-
mental sustainability.
There are some provisions in it that are welcome: allowing
transferability of mineral concessions, increasing maximum
areas for prospecting and mining leases and a few procedural
improvements in the disposal of applications and revision
cases. However, two of the core provisions of the amending
law appear flawed and are likely to create implementation
nightmares.
One is the provision to grant prospecting licence-cum-mining
lease through auction. This proposal no doubt, is a direct con-
sequence of the Supreme Court's judgment in the 2G spectrum
case where the Court observed that the state was "duty-bound
to adopt the method of auction" while allocating natural re-
sources. It would have been more appropriate to have ex-
plained to the apex court the difficulties inherent in this ap-
proach.
First, one participates in the auction of a property when its

Page 4
The miner's responsibility is limited to his project area and its
immediate environs, not for the entire district where local devel-
opment work must be undertaken by public agencies. A district-
approach for pooling miners' contributions may lead to the di-
version of funds for expenditure in non-mining areas of a district
and for non-essential projects. The usual evils of local bureaucra-
cy are likely to bedevil the whole operation. Government offi-
cials rarely visit remote areas where mining enterprises work
and have institutional infrastructure to execute development
work.
In these circumstances, it would have been more beneficial and
effective if mining enterprises were put under a legal obligation
to undertake local development work in their respective project
areas, through partnership arrangements with local communities
in the form of "trusts" , "foundations" and consortium (small
mines), as is practised in many mining nations. Their perfor-
mance could then have been made subject to a compulsory gov-
ernment or social audit.
The author, Nilmadhab Mohanty is a retired civil servant, is an
honorary senior fellow, at the Institute for Studies in Industrial
Development, New Delhi
The top exploration destinations in the world today have been
Latin America, Africa, Australia and even south-east Asia. India
is skipped and does not figure in the list because of its govern-
ance and policy hassles. Bureaucratic initiatives like setting up
a National Mineral Exploration Trust in order to promote ex-
ploration is not likely to improve matters.
In this scenario, it is somewhat fanciful to expect that profes-
sional foreign mining companies will come into the country for
mineral exploration. After all, even more than two decades after
the mining sector was opened for foreign investment no worth-
while foreign company (except Rio Tinto) has come into India;
neither has much exploration work been done. In fact, no new
mineral deposit has been discovered in our country over the
past 40 years.
The second provision of the amending law is the proposal to
have a government-sponsored District Mineral Fund for carry-
ing out development programmes for local communities in
mining areas. The creation of alternative assets in the form of
physical and social infrastructure in place of the damaged natu-
ral capital (minerals) of the community is the miner's obligation
and not that of the government.
VEDANTA HOPES TO RESUME MINING IN GOA AFTER RAINS
Vedanta Chairman Navin Agarwal expressed hope that iron
ore mining in Goa will resume after the monsoon season.
Addressing shareholders at the 50th annual general meeting
held here on Saturday, the chairman of the mining-to-oil con-
glomerate said he was hopeful of the resumption of iron ore
mining in Goa in October this year, despite a decline in global
iron ore prices.
“Mining in Karnataka resumed in Febru-
ary and we have been granted an interim
capacity of 5.5 million tonnes of saleable
ore in Goa, where mining is expected to
recommence after the monsoons – October
onwards – after receiving the required
government approvals,” Agarwal said,
adding that it was disappointing that min-
ing did not resume last year. He said the
company was encouraged by the steps
taken by the government to revitalise the
mining industry, and termed the reduction
of export duty on low-grade iron ore and
the enactment of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regu-
lation) Amendment Act, 2015 as steps in the right direction.
“This will provide continuity to our mining leases and bring
transparency to future auction processes for mineral conces-
sions,” Agarwal said.
He said Vedanta was poised for accelerated growth in 2016, led
by a progressive ramp-up in the new alumina smelters at Korba
in Chhattisgarh and Jharsuguda in Odisha. The company had
secured raw material for the alumina refinery in Jharsuguda
with the State government granting prospecting licences for
three deposits, Agarwal said, adding that the expansion of the
Lanjigarh alumina refinery was in the final stages and environ-
mental clearance expected shortly.
“Our world-class aluminium and power assets are ramping up
[capacity] to reach record production levels, following the $8
billion investment programme,” he said.
On the proposed merger of Cairn India with
Vedanta Ltd, Agarwal said it would
strengthen the company’s cash flows, re-
duce earnings volatility due to diversified
revenue streams, while also reducing pro-
curement and lowering funding costs.
“Cairn India’s shareholders will get access
to Vedanta Limited’s tier I metals and min-
ing assets, which are well-invested, have
low cost and long life. Vedanta’s focus on
improving returns from core, existing oper-
ations in order to unlock value will benefit
Cairn India and its shareholders,” Agarwal
said.
The mining and energy group, which has been hit by a slump in
crude prices and mining bans in key producing states, also post-
ed a consolidated net profit of 8.66 billion rupees (USD 135.61
million) for its fiscal first quarter to June 30. That compared with
a profit of 3.76 billion rupees in the same period last year, which
was hurt by a one-time charge of 21.28 billion rupees. Excluding
the impact of one-off charge, the company's first-quarter profit
was 35.4 percent lower than a year earlier.

Page 5
sell as much ore as it could to domestic mills. Albanese separately
said in a statement Vedanta was focusing on improving efficiency
and costs. Consolidated net sales fell marginally to 169.52 billion
rupees in the June quarter from 170.56 billion rupees a year earlier
at Vedanta, which has interests in oil and gas, iron ore, zinc, cop-
per, power and aluminium.
Chief Executive Tom Albanese said on a conference call Vedan-
ta was hoping to get approvals as early as next month to restart
a few mines in Goa and was positioned to restart mining at a
rate of 5.5 million tonnes a year. However, he said the current
low international prices coupled with royalties and export tax-
es were challenging and the company would look to
MINING IN GOA MAY RESUME IN OCTOBER: CM LAXMIKANT PARSEKAR
The ban was lifted last year, but mining still could not restart be-
cause of pending green clearances.
CAPTIVE STATUS UNLIKELY FOR TATA'S CHROMITE MINE
Tata Steel may have to settle with non-captive status for its
Sukinda chromite ore mine as an inter-departmental govern-
ment panel here is not keen to change the status of the lease.
Non-captive status for the Tata Steel mine can spell good news
for major ferro chrome producers in the state that are battling
acute chrome ore deficit. Tata Steel that was previously selling
chrome ore to these units, is understood to have requested
grant of captive status for its chrome ore mine. Due to indeci-
siveness over its lease status, Tata Steel was operating its mine
at around 20 per cent capacity.
Asked if the panel would change the status of Tata Steel's
mine from non-captive to 'captive', Deepak Mohanty, director
(mines) said, "The inter-departmental panel today considered
only cases of non-captive mines and this includes Tata Steel's
Sukinda chromite ore mine."
It may be noted that during the grant of the second renewal
order for Tata Steel's chromite mine in 1997, the state govern-
ment had changed the status of the lease from 'captive' to 'non-
captive', allowing merchant sale of ore.
However, after the Supreme Court order pertaining to illegal
mining in May 2014, the government in December last year,
had issued express order for the chromite mine, considering its
status as captive lease. Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL) is understood
to have filed a petition in the Revision Authority under Union
mines ministry against the state government's express order,
arguing that this was in violation of its own policy resolution
issued in October 2012.
Last Monday, a delegation of ferro chrome makers under the ban-
ner of Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) called on the state
chief secretary G C Pati. They demanded extension of chromite
mines, including the one held by Tata Steel, till March 31, 2020.
As per the provisions of the amended Mines and Minerals
(Development & Regulation) MMDR Act, 2015, the validity of
captive leases would be extended till 2030 and those of non-
captive leases till 2020.
Apart from Tata Steel's Sukinda chromite mine, the panel headed
by development commissioner U N Behera considered cases of
another chromite mine held by B C Mohanty & Sons and six other
iron and manganese ore mines- R B Das, Tarini Miners, TP Mo-
hanty, Geeta Rani Mohanty, Mala Ray and Gandhamardhan
Sponge Iron.In case of Mala Ray Mines, additional information is
needed to be furnished by the department of mines and forest &
environment.The cases of the rest seven mines are likely to be
recommended for extension by the committee in two to three
days.
"Of the seven mines, three cases are either original leases or in
stage of first renewal. The validity of such leases can be extended
by 50 years as per the provisions of MMDR Act, 2015. The recom-
mendation for extension will be made by the inter-departmental
committee. The proceedings of the committee are expected to be
known in 2-3 days", said Mohanty.
The state government has so far extended the validity of 29 leases-
21 captive and the balance non-captive mines. Out of these 29
leases, 25 are iron and manganese ore mines.
PANAJI: Mining may resume in Goa in October after a gap of
nearly three years, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar told the
legislative assembly on Wednesday.
"The state government lifted the temporary ban on iron and
manganese ore mining in the state on January 15, 2015. Since
all assistance is given by the state government, mining might
resume from October, 2015," Parsekar said in a written reply.
Mining in Goa was stopped both by the state and the central
governments in 2012 .following a Rs.35,000 crore illegal min-
ing scam which was unearthed by a judicial commission ap-
pointed by the union mines ministry.
The Supreme Court banned all mining activity in the same
year.

Page 6
policies for sectors such as solar energy, ceramics, textiles and
tourism. Rajasthan Industrial Policy will be rolled out afresh on
which the industry department has been working for the past
few months.
"The objective of these proposals is to factor in the new realities
for attracting investments into the state," a government official
said.
Several new policies are also on the cards. The government
plans an Investment Promotion Policy to encourage new invest-
ments with thrust on backward areas. It is also considering a
customized package for large and employment intensive invest-
ments.
In the Union budget announced last week, the Centre has in-
creased the FDI cap in defence sector to 49% to encourage do-
mestic manufacturing. In order to tap the opportunities in the
defence manufacturing sector, the state has also decided to
frame a special policy to attract FDI and domestic investment in
defence sector and for using defence offsets.
The scarcity of water and its inadequate availability for the in-
dustry has been a big concern. To override these challenges, the
state is planning to promote industries that use less water. In
the budget, Raje has proposed a special promotion scheme for
electronic system design and manufacturing.
PVT SECTOR MAY BE ROPED IN ROCK PHOSPHATE MINING : RAJASTHAN
The lease deeds have been executed for mines owned by Tata
Steel, Rungta Mines, Odisha Manganese & Minerals Ltd (OMM)
and Aryan Mining & Trading Corporation Ltd (AMTC) to name
a few.
Chief minister Vasundhara Raje has proposed to revise many
policies and frame a few covering various sectors of the state's
economy in order to align with the vision of the new BJP gov-
ernment.
In the budget announced on Monday, Raje said her government
would prepare a new mining policy while reviewing the exist-
ing mining policy for tribal areas. As per the proposals, mining
leases for gypsum will be given to farmers and industry by ter-
minating the monopoly of public sector utilities.
Rajasthan has the largest reserves of rock phosphate but the
sector remains off limits for the private sector. The production
has remained stagnant for years as the PSU - Rajasthan Mines
and Minerals Ltd (RSMML) - which has monopoly over the
mineral's mining, doesn't have enough financial resources to
undertake any expansion in the mining area.
India imports 85% of its rock phosphate, a key mineral for ferti-
lizers, from abroad and Rajasthan has the largest reserves. The
move to bring in private sector in rock phosphate mining will
enhance exploration with efficient practices. This has already
been exemplified in the case ofHindustan Zinc whose produc-
tion capacity has increased multi-fold since its disinvestment in
2002.
Making move improvements, the government will bring new
Supplementary lease deeds have been inked for 20 mines. The
government has collected Rs 893 crore from these leases by way
of stamp duty charges, Mohanty said.
MONNET ISPAT TO SURRENDER ODISHA COAL BLOCK BAGGED IN AUCTION
Monnet Ispat & Energy will surrender a coal block in Odisha
that it bagged for its power plant in the second round of coal
auctions, the company told the Delhi High
Court.
The company on Thursday urged the high
court to direct the government to let it exit
the Utkal-C coal block without paying any
penalty or being blacklisted from future
rounds of coal mine auctions, sources said.
Monnet Ispat approached the court follow-
ing the government's decision to put a ceil-
ing on the fixed costs that a power plant can
factor into electricity tariffs.
It argued that capping fixed costs after the
auction of coal blocks amounted to ex-post facto change in bid-
ding conditions of coal mines for power sector.
The company has not yet approached the coal ministry formally
for surrendering the mining project, sources said.
In a related case of Mandakini Exploration and
Mining, a joint venture of Jindal India Thermal
Power and Monnet Power, the Delhi High Court
on Thursday asked the government to justify the
rationale for capping fixed costs.
The court also asked the government how it can
regulate costs in competitive tariff bidding pro-
vided under Section 63 of the Electricity Act. Sec-
tion 62 of the Act provides for tariff regulation
through the electricity regulator, while Section 63
provides for tariff discovery through competitive
bidding.
The court will next hear both the cases on August 13.
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ORISSA CM SETS DEADLINE FOR MINING LEASE EXTENSION PROPOSALS
After holding a review meeting, the Chief Minister put the subject
as priority for the Government. “Attaching local youths to em-
ployment is the priority of the Government. An inter-disciplinary
committee headed by the Development Commissioner is looking
into the applications for extending the mining lease up to March
31, 2020. The committee should submit its recommendations on 21
iron ore lease holders who were issued show cause notices for
certain violations. Keeping in mind the clarifications, the applica-
tions should be disposed of by July 31,” said the CM.
KIOCL, MECL SIGN MOU FOR JOINT EXPLORATION OF MINERAL ASSETS
Steel ministry undertaking KIOCL Limited has signed a mem-
orandum of understanding with Mineral Exploration Corpora-
tion Limited (MECL) for joint exploration of mineral assets in
the country. Both the public sector companies will jointly de-
ploy their mining and mineral exploration experts to under-
take mining and detailed exploration of minerals in various
states.
It is learnt that only 1 per cent of mineral bearing area of the
country has been explored till now and about 800,000 square
kms of mineralised area requires detailed exploration to iden-
tify the ore resources and their intrinsic values, KIOCL said in
a statement.
?Considering the
urgent need for ex-
tensive mineral ex-
ploration works in
near future, KOCL
and MECL made
this arrangement for
utilising both the
organisations? tech-
nical expertise to
carry out regional
and detailed exploration activities in the country,? the state-
ment added.
KIOCL Chairman and Managing Director Malay Chatterjee
and Gopal Dhawan, CMD of MECL signed the memorandum
in the presence of Steel and mines minister Narendra Singh
Tomar, here today.
Tomar was in Bengaluru today to chair the second meeting of the
Consultative Committee on Ministry of Steel and Mines.
The recently amended MMDR Act has facilitated the public sector
companies to enter into the area of exploration besides their core
activity. The government has notified Steel Authority of India,
KIOCL Limited, MOIL and RINL to conduct exploration of new
mineral areas in an order to increase the production of various
minerals in the country.
Addressing the Consultative Committee meeting, Tomar said
India has emerged as the third largest producer of steel in the
world after China and Japan during the first five months of this
calendar year.
?Indian steel
industry is
growing at a
r e a s o n a b l y
good pace and
last year the
growth in
crude steel
production in
India was
more than 8
per cent. However, per capita steel consumption is quite low at 60
kg as against the world average of 216 kg. We have fixed a target
of achieving 300 million tonne production capacity by 2025 and
my ministry is working out an action plan and strategies to
achieve this target,? Tomar added.
Under the pressure of presenting Action Taken Report (ATR)
on the MB Shah report after missing two deadlines, Chief Min-
ister Raghubar Das on Monday directed officials of State Min-
ing Departments to dispose applications pending for lease
renewal by July 31 for sure. A high-level inter-disciplinary
committee headed by the Development Commission is looking
into the lease renewal for host of mining companies in the
State, particularly located in West Singhbhum district.
MINERS MAY NOT HAVE TO PAY 100% OF ROYALTY AS
FOUNDATION CONTRIBUTION
Mining companies may not have to shell out amounts equiva-
lent to the royalty they pay to the state governments as contri-
bution towards the district mineral foundations (DMF). Alt-
hough the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation
Act, as amended recently, empowers the Centre to mandate
DMF contribution up to 100% of royalty, it would ask for only
a smaller contribution to begin with, steel and mines minister
Narendra Singh Tomar told FE.
Though mining is a state subject, the Centre has the discretion to
decide the exact quantum of payment towards DMF. The Act
mandates existing miners of iron ore, bauxite, limestone and
manganese ore to pay up to 100% of the royalty on the mineral
as their contribution towards the DMF. Miners which would get
(continued on page 8 )...

Page 8
consultations with the states and miners, the mines minister has
appraised Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the situation and
the final call is likely to be taken by the Prime Minister’s Office
soon.
Revisable every three years, the royalty on iron ore was raised to
15% from 10% in August last year. With the higher royalty —
the new DMF impost of 2% National Mineral Exploration Trust
levy — the burden on miners will only rise.
Miners’ relief
 Mining companies may not have to shell out amounts
equivalent to the royalty they pay to the state governments
as contribution towards the district mineral foundations
(DMF)
 * Although the Mines and Minerals (Development and Reg-
ulation Act, as amended recently, empowers the Centre to
mandate DMF contribution up to 100% of royalty, it would
ask for only a smaller contribution to begin with
 * Citing example of Steel Authority of India, which would
need to fork out R1,700 crore per annum towards DMF,
given its current level of production if the new norms are
applied, the mines minister said such levies could make
many existing mines unviable
RAJASTHAN TO GRANT LEASES FOR MINING OF BASE AND NOBLE METALS BY
DECEMBER
Rajasthan has identified over 30 blocks of iron ore, limestone,
manganese and potash among other minerals for auction. Be-
sides, the state has asked the Centre for assistance regarding
environmental clearances for mining proposals, an official state-
ment said on Friday.
Steel and Mines Minister Narendra Singh Tomar met Rajasthan
Chief Minister Vasundhara
Raje in Jaipur yesterday and
discussed issues related to
development of steel and
mines sector in the state, it
said. "Singh appreciated the
efforts of state government in
identifying more than 30
blocks for auction of ML
(mining lease) and PL-cum-
ML (prospecting license-cum-
mining lease), including those
for limestone, manganese, pot-
ash and iron ore," the state-
ment said.
The minister also urged Raje to expedite the process of notifica-
tion for auction of mines and emphasised on the importance of
constituting District Mineral Foundation (DMF) for the selected
districts at the earliest, it added.
"Progress on ML for iron ore in Bhilwara to SAIL and allot-
ment of Banera iron ore mine and Jahajpur iron ore blocks to
RINL was also discussed during the meeting," it said. Tomar
handed detailed exploration report of 28 blocks to the Chief
Minister, the statement said adding that the reports are of base
metals, gold and phosphorite of G2-G1 level. These inputs were
prepared by the Mines Ministry
at a cost of about Rs 60 crore.
Recently, the ministry has de-
cided to supply the promotional
exploration reports prepared by
MECL to state governments
without any cost. "With these
additional inputs, Rajasthan has
38 blocks ready for auction of
ML and 24 blocks for auction of
PL-cum-ML. Tomar also offered
help from MSTC in conducting
the auctions," it said. Raje ap-
prised Tomar about Rajasthan's
preparedness for conducting auctions and related activities like
exploration and setting up of DMF, the statement said. "She
sought support from the Central Government in according en-
vironment clearances to mining proposals to safeguard jobs and
livelihood of mine-workers," it added.
fresh mining lease (through the auction route) would have to
pay a maximum of 33% of the royalty towards DMF, meant to
support the project-affected people.
Citing example of state-run Steel Authority of India, which
would need to fork out a whopping R1,700 crore per annum
towards DMF, given its current level of production if the new
norms are applied, Tomar said such levies could make many
existing mines unviable. “It would be lower than (100% of roy-
alty),” he said.
Caught between the plea of the mining industry, already reeling
under heavy a tax burden, to keep the contribution towards
DMF to the minimum level possible and the states’ demand to
keep it at the maximum level, the steel and mines ministry
failed to fix the rate even as the Act was notified over four
months ago.
Though the failure to fix the rate may not come in the way of
mining auction starting, it has certainly created a sense of uncer-
tainty among existing and prospective miners.
While the mines ministry intends to give more to the project-
affected people, at the same time, it does not intend to put an
excessive burden on miners and create a situation where min-
ingbecomes more strenuous. Sources said following

Page 9
COAL MINISTRY SITTING ON A GOLD MINE, PLANS UNIFORM MODEL FOR COAL
INDIA
“Awarding contracts to operators in the past few years under the
MDO model was on piecemeal basis, and not on turnkey. Here,
the miner would be handed over the mines for a much longer pe-
riod, and would be awarded on a
turnkey basis from production to
transport till loading point,” an offi-
cial noted.
MINE MODEL
 The draft MDO model has al-
ready been prepared by the coal
ministry in consultation with CIL
and is currently waiting to be vetted
by the law ministry
 A PPP model for CIL to boost production was first mooted by
the Planning Commission in 2012
Later, then Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, in his 2013-14
Budget pitch had pressed for the PPP model, with Coal India as
one of the partners to ramp up domestic coal production
NGT ASKS 5 MINERAL-RICH STATES TO SURVEY ALL ASBESTOS MINES
The National Green Tribunal has asked five mineral-rich states
to survey all the asbestos and associated mineral mines and
file a report stating the impact of overburden or waste lying at
these mines and pits.
A bench headed by judicial member U D Salvi observed that it
is a matter of concern that asbestos and associated mineral
mines have not been closed scientifically.
"In the instant case none of the mines both asbestos and associ-
ated minerals have been closed scientifically. Fi-
nal mining closure plans have also not been submitted by con-
cerned lessees. This can be a matter of concern," the bench
said.
"We therefore, direct the respective states to cause the survey
of all the asbestos mines as well as of associated minerals with
asbestos and state before us the impact of overburden lying at
the said mines and the pits existing there as of today, and if the
Overburden also called waste or spoil is the material that lies
above an area that is removed during surface mining and may be
used to restore an exhausted mining site.
The green panel had on March 26, directed the governments of
Odisha, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka
and Jharkhand governments to file a report on scientific closure
of the asbestos mines and the instances of asbestosis (a lung dis-
ease resulting from the inhalation of asbestos particles) in their
states.
During the hearing, counsel appearing for the Indian Bureau of
Mines ( IBM) said there is no asbestos mining currently opera-
tional anywhere in the country and the operations of the mines of
associated minerals with asbestos has also been halted.
In an effort to ensure a uniform model for engaging private
players in mining to boost output, the coal ministry would be
coming up with a model mine development operator (MDO)
agreement. Apart from Coal India Ltd
(CIL), which would engage private players
according to the new MDO model, this
would also serve as a guideline for state
government-run miners as well, for select-
ing private operators.
According to officials, the draft MDO model
has already been prepared by the ministry
in consultation with CIL and is currently
waiting to be vetted by the law ministry.
Following this, it would be put before the
CIL board for approval before being used, a source said.
Engaging private contractors for mining is already operational
in CIL under the MDO model, but is likely to be an expansion
of the current model, to ensure greater participation from pri-
vate players to boost CIL’s output. Under this, CIL might go
for long-term mining contracts with private players on a turn-
key basis.
COAL INDIA TO GIVE UP THREE-FOURTHS OF MOZAMBIQUE MINE
Coal India, the world's biggest coal miner, today said it has
decided to relinquish about three-fourths of a coal mine it was
allotted in Mozambique.
Coal India Africana Limitada, a fully-owned subsidiary of the
state-owned firm, was allotted two leasehold licences for ex-
traction of coal of about 224 square kilometre in Tete province
of Mozambique.
The company board has approved retaining "54 sq km of
leasehold licence area which will be of actual interest with coal
bearing horizon occuring within a 500-metre depth and relin-
quish the remaining 170 sq km area out of total leasehold licence
area of 224 sq km", CIL said in a regulatory filing.
The decision to relinquish was taken based on Interim Geological
Report prepared by CMPDIL, a 100 per cent planning subsidiary
of CIL, it said.

Lloyd Steel and Topworth Urja amongst others have bid for
Marki-Mangli-I mine, it added. "Big private sector players like
JSW, Hindalco , Jindal Iron and Steel, BALCO, Bhushan Power
and Steel , ACC and Vedanta apart from SAIL and RINL are in
the fray," the release said.
The tender process for tranche III of auction for 10 coal mines
comprising of two Schedule II and eight Schedule III coal mines
started in June 8. As a part of the auction process, technical Bids
comprising of online and offline bid documents were opened
today in the presence of the bidders, the release said. In the first
stage of the tender process, bidders submitted their technical
bids on MSTC's portal created for the purpose. "The online bids
were decrypted and opened electronically in the presence of the
bidders...
The bids will be evaluated by a multi-disciplinary technical
evaluation committee and technically qualified bidders would
be shortlisted for participation in the electronic auction to be
conducted on MSTC portal from August 11, 2015," it said.
GSI FORWARDS SUBARNAREKHA GOLD MINING REPORT TO JHARKHAND
For centuries, the Subarnarekha river has been the lifeline for
the people of the Chotanagpur Plateau. Apart from feeding
agricultural fields, this river, as the name suggests, has been a
source of gold for the locals, who sieve hundreds of kilograms
of river sand to pick up a few ounces of the yellow metal.
Since the days of the Raj, villagers in Tamar block of Ranchi
district have been collecting
gold from the Subarnarekha,
but large scale scientific min-
ing was never taken up.
Though Geological Survey of
India (GSI), the official body
for identifying mineral re-
serves, has been working in
the region for decades, it was
only this month that it com-
pleted its 15-year-old survey
and submitted a report to the
state government.
GSI Jharkhand state office dep-
uty director general SR Kisku
said the G2 report (level three
of four levels) was submitted
to the state government after a
survey at Parasi village of
Tamar block. "We conducted deep boring, mineral identifica-
tion and rough estimates at more than 12 places. After comple-
tion of chemical analysis for one of the blocks, we submitted
our report to the state government," he said, adding that the
gold content in the samples collected is estimated to be around
1.2-2 grams per tonne of ore.
While rough estimates of reserves of seven million tonne gold
have been predicted, GSI officials clarified that the exact reserve
could be determined only when a scientific exploration is car-
ried out by the state department's of mines.
Principal secretary, department of mines and geology, S K Sa-
tapathy admitted to have received the voluminous GSI report
on gold reserves, but refused to
comment on the estimated reserves
unless an exploration is carried out.
Asked if there are plans to carry out
exploration any time soon, Satapa-
thy said it depends on the viability.
A decision in this regard will be
taken once the report is thoroughly
studied.
Geologist and former Ranchi Uni-
versity professor Dr Nitish Pri-
yadarshi said placer deposits of
gold in rivers are a known fact.
"Like the Amazon in South America,
the Subarnarekha and the Kharkai
in Jharkhand have been carrying
gold pieces indicating that the rocks
contain minerals with gold which is
set free by withering," he said, ex-
plaining that sometimes the content of gold is so low that it is
not viable to carry out scientific mining and refinement. "These
are mostly quartz in which traces of arsenic are also likely to be
there and in that case mining and refining it to take out the gold
would become an expensive affair," he said.
JSW, JSPL, VEDANTA, OTHERS IN RACE FOR 10 COAL MINES
Major players like SAIL , JSW , JSPL and Vedanta are in the
race to grab 10 coal blocks on offer in the third tranche next
month. The government has received a total of 31 bids for the 10
coal blocks with reserves of 858.19 million tonnes, an official
statement said. The highest number of six bids each have been
received for Majra coal block in Maharastra and Jamkhani coal
mine in Odisha, while Chitarpur mine in Jharkhand received
five bids.
While Bhaskarpara coal block in Chhattisgarh, Marki Mangli I
in Maharashtra and Parbatpur Central mine in Jharkhand have
received three bids each, it said. Dsongeri Tal II mine in Madh-
ya Pradesh and Sondhia mine in Chhattisgarh received two bids
each, it said. "The third tranche of coal mine auctions have re-
ceived bids for several mines which were offered in earlier
rounds but failed to find bidders. Out of 10 mines which were
put on the block this time, 6 were mines which had been offered
earlier but did not attract enough bidders," the release said.
Mines like Parbatpur Central which could not be sold earlier
have received bids from industry majors like JSW Steel and
SAIL, it said.

Page 11
SUPREME COURT CONSIDERING AUCTION MODALITIES OF KARNATAKA IRON ORE
MINES
overburdened dumps. The apex court accepted the categorisation
in its 2013 verdict.
Of all the Category C mines, 15 of those whose leases were can-
celled by the apex court earlier are ready to be auctioned, lawyer
for Karnataka government Anitha Shenoy told the court. Auctions
could commence within 30 days, she added. The Karnataka gov-
ernment has been trying to get the process underway for at least a
year.
Shenoy further said an in-depth exploration being conducted by
the Mineral Exploration Corp. Ltd (MECL) of the 36 remaining
mines in Category C would require 18 months.
The court has asked the secretary, department of mines, Karna-
taka, to be present in court on Thursday to assist the court.
The Karnataka Iron and Steel Manufacturers’ Association also
sought modification of the auction details. While the recommen-
dations of the CEC for these auctions was that the auctions should
be open to industries located or proposed to be located in the
state, the association said it should go to existing industries alone.
The court also asked why the auction should not be opened up for
the whole market, instead of restricting it to end users only. The
Karnataka government told the court that it is amenable to doing
this, although the association opposed the proposal.
ODISHA NOTIFIES MINERAL EXPLORATION POLICY
Odisha has come out with a new policy aimed at strengthen-
ing the institutional setup for the mineral exploration in the
state.
The policy also strives to upscale the exploration activities
with an aim to upgrade the mineral deposit estimates up to G2
level within a reasonable time frame and eventually to G1 lev-
el so that the potential of mining sector is achieved through
scientific exploitation of re-
sources.
The Mines and Minerals
(Development & Regulation)
MMDR Amendment Act, 2015
provides for auction of major
mineral concessions which can be
taken up only after proving the
mineralisation in the proposed
lease areas. This calls for scien-
tific exploration in the mineral
bearing areas of the state for aug-
menting the estimated reserves, systematic planning of mining
activities and conservation of minerals.
The state government will enter into memorandum of under-
standing (MoU) with organisations like the Geological Survey
of India (GSI) and the Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd
(MECL) for undertaking exploration activities in the state. The
GSI has already set up an office in the state. Efforts will be made
to persuade the MECL to establish a field office in Odisha.
The policy also moots setting up an Odisha Mineral Exploration
Corporation with participation of the Odisha Mining Corpora-
tion, MECL and mineral resource based industries. “There is need
to build up the capacity, both insti-
tutional and manpower to meet the
challenges of the need to upscale the
mineral exploration capacity. A com-
prehensive review of the manpower
needs of mineral exploration sector
will be carried out and steps will be
taken to increase the capacity of edu-
cational institutions to meet these
needs”, the policy says.
The directorate of geology would
publish a consolidated report on the
status of mineral exploration and the estimated reserves in the
state within six months. This report is expected to provide focus
on exploration activities and help in identifying the exploration
gaps and guiding the investment in mineral exploration.
The Supreme Court said it would allow the Karnataka govern-
ment to decide the manner in which 15 iron ore mines in the
state will be auctioned.
A three-judge bench comprising justices Ranjan Gogoi, R.K.
Agrawal and N.V. Ramana is considering the modalities gov-
erning the auction of 15 Category C mines.
These 15 mines are expected to yield about 6-7 million metric
tonnes of iron ore.
While saying that it did not want to intervene in the auction
process itself, the court said that its orders had to be imple-
mented. “If the state is found deficient in complying with
court orders, we’ll deal with the state,” the court said during
the course of arguments in the case. The court also asked for a
schedule for auctioning all 51 Category C mines.
In April 2013, the court had cancelled all Category C mining
licences in the state. A Central Empowered Committee (CEC)
appointed by the court had previously classified mines as A, B
or C depending on the extent to which they had violated laws
(C was the worst).
The categorisation was suggested by CEC based on the extent
of encroachment by miners in terms of mining pits and

The directorate of geology will also conduct annual review of all
holders of reconnaissance permits, prospecting licenses and min-
ing leases and continuance of such permits/licenses or leases
will be linked with their performance in scientific exploration
CCL TO START NEW PROJECTS FOR COAL MINING IN JHARKHAND
State-run Central Coalfield Limited (CCL) will start new pro-
jects for coal mining in Jharkhand, a top official of the company
said today.
"We will start mining of coal over a stretch of 34,000 acres of
land in Jharkhand and land authentication process is on," said
CCL's Chairman-cum-Managing Director Gopal Singh.
Singh, who will take charge as the Managing Director of Na-
tional Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) from Janu-
ary 1 next, was in Rajrappa to offer obeisance in Rajrappa Tem-
ple in Ramgarh district.
He told reporters that progress of land authentication work was
monitored by Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghuvar Das and
Chief Secretary of Jharkhand, Rajiv Gauba.
"We are also holding camps in villages to authenticate the
land," he said, adding that the new mining project will begin in
CCL command area of the state, he said.
Besides, the public sector unit will recruit 17,000 people in next
two years, Singh said, claiming that around 1.70 lakh people in
and around the proposed projects will indirectly benefit follow-
ing the implementation of the projects.
Singh said mineral-rich Jharkhand has plenty of scope to be-
come a developed state, if the minerals are harnessed in a prop-
er manner.
The CMD said two of its projects in Madadh Amrapali Project,
touted to be Asia's largest projects, have even featured in the
Prime Minister's Pragati portal.
CCL has been emerging as the best coal company of the coun-
try, he added.
Asked the reason behind CCL's whopping growth, Singh said it
was because of good co-ordination among all stakehold-
ers,including government agencies, contractors, employees etc.
A master plan would be prepared for a time frame of 10-15
years by the directorate of geology with technical assistance and
support of experts, for taking up reconnaissance and prospect-
ing operations, in consultation with all stakeholders.
GROUP COMPANY RULES FOR COAL AUCTIONS TO BE TIGHTENED
With the intent to try and prevent any chance of cartelisation or
collusion among bidders during the forthcoming round of cap-
tive coal block auctions in August, the government is mulling
tightening the defini-
tion of what constitutes
a group company.
A person aware of the
matter said that the
government is contem-
plating making the
definition “more strin-
gent” than the present
one, which has been
taken from the foreign
direct investment (FDI)
policy. This person
said that the govern-
ment is looking at de-
fining a group compa-
ny on the basis of “ownership” and “control”, but did not elab-
orate.
This internal discussion comes following the rejection by the
government of bids for four blocks for which Jindal Steel and
Power Ltd (JSPL) and Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco) had
emerged as the successful bidders.
Following this, both companies had moved the Delhi high court
challenging the rejection of their bids. The court later said it had
found “no evidence” of collusion in at least three of the four
cases.
To be sure, this is as yet a matter of debate within the govern-
ment and no final call has been taken. “There are a number
of aspects you continue to discuss, some of them fructify,
some don’t,” another
person aware of the
discussions said.
According to a press
note on FDI, two or
more entities are con-
sidered “group com-
panies” if they can,
directly or indirectly,
exercise 26% or more
of voting rights in each
other, or if they can
appoint more than half
the directors on each
other’s boards.
Already, the govern-
ment has said that multiple bids from one company for a
particular block will be treated as one bid. For the purposes
of auction, the government already defines an “associate
company” on the basis of control of at least 20% of share capi-
tal or of business decisions.
The government began auctioning coal fields for captive use
in February this year following a Supreme Court judgement
that had quashed the allotment of 204 blocks between 1993
and 2008 without an auction.

Page 13
SC ORDERS STATUS QUO ON 3 COAL BLOCKS, ISSUES NOTICE TO JSPL
The expert committee made classification of mines and changed
the end-use of the two coal blocks on the ground that the quality
of the coal from there were of inferior and average quality suited
for power as better quality coal is required for cement and steel. —
PTI
The Attorney General said there was also a no man’s land between
Utkal B1 and B2 blocks, which were merged at the time of re-
auction.
He contended that the High Court had wrongly interfered with
the decision of the expert committee, which after long delibera-
tions, had taken a conscious decision to determine the end-use by
examining the grade and the volume of coal in the mine/block
and also considered the issue of merger of mines which had a
common boundary.
"The manner in which the High Court examined the decision of
the Technical Committee amounts to sitting in appeal over it. And
hence the same is unsustainable and needs to be set aside by this
court," he argued.
The High Court had provided relief to JSPL by saying that while
changing end-use of these blocks to power sector, the aspect of its
adverse impact on steel sector "has not been considered".
It had also directed the committee, which had been set up to clas-
sify coal blocks as well as formulate criteria for their auction and
allotment, to review its decision to merge Utkal B1 and B2, saying
"there was no application of mind".
JSPL had been allocated Utkal B1 for operating a steel unit and
Gare Palma IV/6 for a sponge iron industry. But the allocations,
along with others, were cancelled by Supreme Court last year.
Government had contended that end-use of both blocks was
changed in view of the "energy security of the country".
The High Court had observed that as per the Coal Mines (Special
Provisions) Second Ordinance, 2014, "it cannot be concluded that
power has been given priority over steel and other sectors. On the
contrary, all the core sectors have been placed at par." — PTI
The Supreme Court on Monday ordered maintainance of sta-
tus quo on three coal blocks in Odisha and one in Chhattis-
garh, which the Delhi High Court had directed to be excluded
from the auction process.
The apex court also issued notice and sought response of the
Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) and its promoter Naveen
Jindal on an appeal by the government challenging the High
Court's February 11 verdict, directing the technical committee
to review its own decision to change the end-use of two coal
blocks — Utkal B1 and B2 blocks in Odisha.
JSPL had contended in the High Court that change of end-use
of these blocks from steel and iron to power has prevented
them from bidding for them.
The two blocks in Odisha and Gare Palma IV/6 block in
Chhattisgarh were earlier alloted to JSPL but were cancelled
along with 214 blocks by the apex court and later, when re-
auction was announced, their end-use was changed from steel
and cement to power.
“Maintain status quo as of today,” a bench comprising Justices
M B Lokur, Kurian Joseph and A K Sikri said while posting the
matter for hearing in second week of September.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had sought stay of the High
Court judgement which was opposed by JSPL's counsel and
senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who said that the company has
already invested Rs 20,000 crore for developing the steel plant
using a new technology.
“Why can’t I bid? Only because there is a change in end-use
cannot be a ground,” he submitted after Rohatgi assailed the
High Court verdict which gave a go-bye to the decision of the
Inter Ministerial Expert Technical Committee, which was con-
stituted specifically to formulate criteria for classifying the coal
mines for the purpose of auction.
The Attorney General said that on August 25, 2014 the apex
court had held as illegal and arbitrary all allocation and by
subsequent order on September 24, 2014, quashed them by
ordering re-auction.
JSW DIVESTS 26% STAKE IN SOUTH AFRICAN COAL MINING HOLDINGS
JSW Energy has divested 26 per cent stake in its Johannesburg
Stock Exchange listed subsidiary South African Coal Mining
Holdings Ltd (SACMH) to Comogen (Pty) Limited, the com-
pany said in a stock market disclosure.
JSW held stake in this firm through its step down subsidiary
JSW Energy Natural Resources South Africa (Pty) Ltd.
Post this, the company's holding in SACMH came down to
67.25 per cent.
The divestment is a part of the black economic empowerment
requirements mandated by the department of mineral re-
sources (DMR). This requires a certain portion of a firm in the
country to be owned by locals as part of racial affirmative
action plan.
In March 2011, JSW Energy Ltd through its subsidiary JSW Ener-
gy Natural Resources Mauritius Ltd, had acquired 59.49 per cent
stake in SACMH for an undisclosed amount. It bought 49.80 per
cent stake through share purchase agreement from Royal
Bafokeng Capital Pty Ltd and made an open offer to acquire fur-
ther 30.37 per cent stake in the company. However, it managed to
acquire 9.69 per cent more stake in company .
In December the same year it acquire an additional 33.78 per cent
stake in SACMH, post which it held 93.27 per cent stake in South
African coal mining firm.

ELECTROSTEEL'S SLIDE INTO BANKS' CONTROL
With the firm's debt crisis steadily worsening, the lenders have
taken management control, giving up on the 2013 restructuring
plan, grounded by input problems and product price crashes
In 2013, when a consortium of 27 banks and financial institu-
tions supported Kolkata-based Electrosteel Steels’ (ESL’s) cor-
porate debt restructuring (CDR) proposal, it was meant to
work. The company believed it would translate to cash genera-
tion of Rs 2,000 crore, enough to service the debt.
However, problems with captive raw material supply and a
near-crash in
finished steel
products in
2014 sent the
plan haywire.
On Monday,
lenders took
management control ofESL by invoking the new strategic debt
restructuring rules of the Reserve Bank of India. These allow
banks to acquire control of a defaulting company by converting
loans into equity, partially or fully.
Debt had risen to Rs 7,150 crore by March 2013 from Rs 4,110
crore at the end of FY11. Losses at the operating level had in-
creased to Rs 87 crore in FY13, compared to a loss of Rs 3.5
crore in FY11. Interest expenses had risen from Rs 1.6 crore in
FY11 to Rs 134 crore in FY13. Then, operating losses rose to Rs
172 crore in FY15. Interest cost grew from Rs 177 crore in FY14
to Rs 452 crore in FY15.
The major problem was captive raw material supply for its 2.51
million tonne steel and ductile iron project. ESL had an irrevo-
cable offtake agreement with Electrosteel Castings (ECL), a pro-
moter group company, for procurement of coking coal and iron
ore at a cost-plus mark-up during the loan agreement with the
lenders. In sum, ESL had an assured captive supply of critical
inputs, required in any steel project.
The contours of the arrangement between the two companies
was somewhat like this — ESL was to source iron ore and cok-
ing coal from ECL for 20 years. Coking coal requirements for
ESL were to be met from a mix of ECL's coking coal mine at
Parbatpur (about 30 per cent) and the balance from other
sources, according to the company's annual report for 2013-14.
ECL had been allotted the Parbatpur mine in Jharkhand with
reserves of 231 million tonnes.
It also had an iron ore mine and non-coking coal mine in Jhar-
khand. This changed with the Supreme Court order on deallo-
cations and the new mining rules.
“ESL had to procure raw material from the market at high pric-
es,” an industry source said. And, finished product prices saw a
dramatic drop over the past year. Electrosteel officials were not
available for comment.
The company’s 2013-14 report said ESL was selling TMT bars,
billets and pig iron in the open market. TMT bars now sell at Rs
26,500 a tonne,
from Rs 32,000 a
tonne a year
before. Billets
are Rs 26,000 a
tonne vis-a-vis
Rs 31,000 a
tonne and pig iron at Rs 17,500 compared to Rs 19,000 a tonne.
ESL had also lined up plans of tapping the international market
and had even exported a few consignments of billets but the
export market is not in better shape.
A subdued steel market has put the companies in trouble. Be-
fore Electrosteel, it was Bhushan Steel.
According to Credit Suisse’s April data, many steel companies
have seen debt levels rise by three to six times in five years,
leading to debt of $1,000 to $1,400 per tonne of installed capaci-
ty. Bhushan Steel and Usha Martin have debt of $1,400 a tonne
of nameplate capacity as compared to $400 a tonne for less lev-
eraged Tata Steel and JSW Steel.
The Joint Lenders Forum is to give a revival plan in 90 days.
There is buzz that the lenders are in talks with two investors
and that the Vedanta group could be in the fray. This has boost-
ed investor sentiment, with the stock gaining six per cent on the
bourses to Rs 3.76. Looking at the revival initiatives and as the
developments progress, the stock can gain some more momen-
tum, feel analysts.
However, “the business environment remains weak and in such
situations, there might be few takers for the 2.5 mt capacity”,
cautioned an analyst with a domestic brokerage. And, even if
some company shows interest, what they’d be willing to pay
and how they’d source coal and iron ore are details the Street
awaits.
SACMH, a coal-producing company, specialises in low-seam
open cast and underground coal mining.
Founded in 1994 and led by Sajjan Jindal, JSW Energy offers
mining, power plant equipment manufacturing and trading of
electricity. Last year, the company struck a deal to buy two hy-
droelectric projects of Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd (JPVL) in
Himachal Pradesh at an enterprise value of around Rs 9,700
crore.
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CONFLICTING REPORTS ON ADANI SACKING QUEENSLAND COAL WORKERS AT
ITS CARMICHAEL MINE
from both sides of politics.
But Adani continues to insist it is pushing ahead, and on Thurs-
day engineering firm Downer EDI announced it had received two
letters of intent from Adani for contracts on the project, including
one contract that would be a joint venture with Posco.
Downer EDI's statement said the letters of award could be termi-
nated if contracts had not been entered into by September 30.
Adani's spokesman said none of the company's Brisbane staff had
been sacked.
"As indicated when asked previously, there were changes over a
week ago in relation to project management and execution con-
tracts which were connected to the same engineering contracts
and preliminary works variations that Adani announced last
month," Adani's spokesman said.
"The preliminary works contracts were previously sustained due
to the level of investment Adani had maintained for more than 12
months in anticipation of a range of government decisions and
approvals timeframes.
"As we announced on 24 June 2015, a number of changes in the
approvals processes meant these timeframes had to be adjusted."
The spokesman added that "if and when there are changes to our
response to approval timeframes" the company would make an
announcement.
"Adani does not propose to comment on ill-informed specula-
tion," he said.
Queensland's Labor government has continued to back the pro-
ject, despite its own budget not including any potential royalties
from the mine and revelations that Treasury officials had advised
that they believed the development was unviable.
BHUSHAN STEEL GETS LENDERS NOD FOR RS 30,000-CRORE LOAN RESTRUCTURING
Bhushan Steel Ltd (BSL) has received lenders' approval for
long-term restructuring of about Rs 30,000 crore loans under a
scheme of Reserve Bank of India.
The Joint Lenders Forum (JLF) has agreed to ex-
tend the loans of BSL for a tenure of 25 years un-
der the RBI's scheme for long-term structuring of
loans in line with cash flows.
"About 70 per cent of the lenders have approved
the scheme and by the end of this month it should
get closed", Bhushan Steel Chief Finance Officer
(CFO) Nittin Johari told PTI.
Johari said, "The sanction from few banks are
awaited and as soon as the nod is given the plan
will begin."
"We have a four-year moratorium on principal repayment.
After this, there will be a 21-year repayment period, with a provi-
sion to refinance every five years," he added.
A consortium of bankers led by Punjab National
Bank (PNB) has a total exposure of about Rs 30,000
crore in the company.
Besides PNB, the other banks include State Bank of
India, Canara Bank, Bank of India and Dena Bank.
An extension of maturity will help the banks in mak-
ing lower provision for the loan given to the debt-
ridden steel manufacturer.
On being asked about the plans to hive off and sell
non-core assets to reduce debt, Johari said the com-
pany has agreed on sale and leaseback of its oxygen
plant in Odisha and further decision would be taken as and when
required. (continued on page 16)...
Indian company Adani has begun sacking workers on its Car-
michael mine project, raising fresh questions about the sta-
tus of Australia's largest coal development.
Adani staff working on the early phases of the mine, which
would open Queensland's vast Galilee Basin, were told last
Thursday and Friday they were out of a job.
Adani itself is denying it has begun retrenching staff with a
spokesman saying: "suggestions of a fresh decision in relation
to staffing late last week are simply not true."
But multiple sources have told Fairfax Media the company
intends to keep a skeleton workforce of about 20 people.
The remainder, about 90 engineers, safety officers and other
mining personnel, have been told their departures will be stag-
gered between the months of August and March.
Company sources said workers were told they were being
made redundant because of delays in getting approvals for the
project from the Queensland and federal governments.
"They're basically doing what GVK did – sacking everyone but
keeping a few people there," one source said.
A second said Adani was reducing its workforce from "more
than 100 to about 20".
Fairfax Media revealed last week that Adani had stood down
two major contractors – its project manager Parsons Brincker-
hoff and Korean construction company Posco, which had been
touted as an investor in the final project.
The company has also suspended four engineering firms,
WorleyParsons, Aurecom, Aecon and SMEC.
The dismissals have raised questions about whether Adani
intends to continue with the project, which has received praise

Page 16
pledged a little over 17 lakh shares in the company.
The Delhi-based firm's net loss had widened to Rs 360.77 crore
during the fourth quarter of the last fiscal.
For the entire 2014-15 fiscal, Bhushan Steel's standalone net loss
stood at Rs 1,253.83 crore as against a net profit of Rs 61.96 crore
in 2013-14.
Shares of Bhushan Steel closed at Rs 55 apiece on BSE, down 2.40
per cent from yesterday's close.
In August last year, Bhushan Steel Vice Chairman and Man-
aging Director Neeraj Singhal was arrested by the CBI in an
alleged cash-for-loan scam involving the then Syndicate Bank
CMD S K Jain, who was later suspended by the government.
After the arrest, lenders formed a committee with officials
from various banks, which are closely monitoring the func-
tioning of the company. They had also appointed some new
directors to the company's board.
Meanwhile, Bhushan Steel promoter Aishwarya Singhal has
INDIA REJECTS NEW URANIUM MINING PROJECTS
provinces in the country after Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh.
The Uranium Corporation of India Limited had undertaken
premining activities in West Khasi Hills in the province, but was
stopped in 2009, with officials now saying that the projects, or
other similar projects in the region, were unlikely to be take up in
the immediate future. Meanwhile in a related development, the
Indian government was considering setting up a `strategic urani-
um stockpile’ ranging between 5 000 t and 15 000 t to take care of
fuel requirements for the next five to six years. Officials said that
India had been pursuing purchase of uranium from Australia and
Canada and such negotiations were moving on a very ‘positive
track’ and hence the proposal for a strategic stockpile had been
mooted and forwarded to the Union Cabinet of Ministers for ap-
proval. It was pointed out that a stockpile had become all the
more feasible following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to
Kazakhstan last week, with uranium supplies of about 5 000 t
being contracted from the central Asian country. With possibili-
ties of overseas supplies of uranium to India brightening in recent
months, the country could afford to go slow or even scrap mining
projects in the country that had become sensitive both politically
or financially, the officials said. In 2014, Indian had produced an
estimated 1 252 t of the atomic fuel against a requirement of about
650 t for its existing nuclear power plants and hence with short
term fuel requirement being assured and overseas supplies as-
sured in the future, risks in taking up new domestic mining pro-
jects could be avoided, the official added.
India has taken the decision not to pursue any new uranium
projects in at least three of its provinces in consideration of the
local populace who are against uranium mining, as well as the
limited availability of financial allocations from the federal
government. Senior government officials noted that while
prospects for new uranium mines had emerged in provinces
like Meghalaya, Himachal and Uttarakhand, issues, such as
unstable hilly terrain and opposition from locals, had forced
the government to go slow in taking up mining projects in
these areas. Simultaneously, uranium mining under the au-
thority of the Department of Atomic Energy could only be
implemented when large funding requirements were assured
from the federal government, not only for mining but also
research and development. Without this funding, it would not
be possible to initiate projects piecemeal, the officials added. It
was pointed out that in Meghalaya, a large number of the lo-
cal political parties representing ethnic and tribal sections had
been running movements against uranium mining in the re-
gion, and government could not ignore the opposition given
the strategic location of the north-eastern province and the
sensitivities of minority communities. While information on
uranium reserves in general, and Meghalaya in specifically,
were not readily available from government agencies, as it
was categorised as a ‘strategic mineral’, unofficial reports esti-
mated the reserves in the province to range between 9 000 t
and 14 000 t, ranking third among all other uranium-rich
ONLY A FOURTH OF EXPLORERS FILED MINERAL DATA IN SEVEN YEARS
Only one-fourth of companies with reconnaissance permits or
prospecting licences have submitted mineral exploration data
to the government in the last seven years, according to the
ministry of mines.
State governments granted 401 reconnaissance permits and
920 prospecting licences between November 2007 and Decem-
ber 2014. Of these, 186 holders of reconnaissance permits and
151 prospecting licencees have submitted their data.
A reconnaissance permit is needed for preliminary explora-
tion for a mineral through regional, aerial, geophysical or geo-
chemical surveys and geological mapping, but it does not al-
low pits, trenches or drilling. A prospecting licence is needed
for secondary exploration to prove the existence of mineral
deposits.
Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan led in granting
these exploration licences between 2007 and 2014. The three states
granted 161, 523 and 259 licences, respectively. Only 13 per cent
licencees in Rajasthan and 20 per cent in Madhya Pradesh have
submitted exploration data.
On the other hand, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Karna-
taka, four of the country's most mineral rich states, granted 26, 27,
70 and 71 exploration licences, respectively, during the period.
The Centre has renewed its focus on mining in the past year as
India's explored area is miniscule to its obvious geological poten-
tial. According the ministry of mines, 570,000 sq km of India's
land area of 3.28 million sq km has obvious geological potential.
In 2012, the ministry said, only 5,046 sq km was under any

Page 17
mineral lease, less than 1 per cent of the potential.
The government also does not have data on hand for auction-
ing mineral rights. According to the Mines and Minerals
(Development and Regulation) Act, 2015, state governments
will have the power to auction every mineral, barring coal.
New mineral evidence rules notified in April allow a compo-
site licence - a prospecting licence-cum-mining lease - to be
auctioned only after G3 level exploration. A mining lease can
be auctioned only after G2 level exploration.
States like Odisha have said they do do not have the techno-
logical and financial expertise for this level of exploration.
States worry they will not get good prices if evidence of min-
eral content is not adequate. The central government will
form a National Mineral Exploration Trust soon to boost ex-
ploration.
"Apart from NMDC and MECL, we have appointed central
public sector undertakings such as SAIL, RINL, KIOCL and
MIOL as well as state PSUs from Chhattisgarh and Madhya
Pradesh for exploration work. We are increasing exploration
with their help. If there is better data available, even states
will get more revenue in auctions," Union Mines Minister
Narendra Singh Tomar had said earlier in an interview to
Business Standard.
DISCLAIMER: This is a compilation of various news appeared in different sources. In this issue we have tried to do
an honest compilation. This edition is exclusively for information purpose and not for any commercial use.
Your suggestions are most valuable.
Your suggestions and feedback is awaited at :-
editor@geonesis.org

Geonesis Volume 2 issue 9 august 2015

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Geonesis Volume 2 issue 9 august 2015