Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant said full-fledged mining activity in Goa would resume by Oct. He said the restart would generate around Rs 1,000 crore in revenue for the mining department and create economic opportunities for thousands of people dependent on mining directly or indirectly, including truck owners and other stakeholders affected by the prolonged shutdown.Mining in Goa has been halted since 2018 following a Supreme Court decision on mining leases. As part of efforts to restart mining-related activity, state govt auctioned 20 iron ore dumps. In the latest phase, 20 of the 24 dumps offered received bids.The Goa State Pollution Control Board has granted consent to operate to nine companies to export 7.5 million tonnes of ore per annum. Although state govt has auctioned 20 mineral blocks, only nine have received consent to operate.Director of mines and geology Narayan Gad said total ore extraction in 2025-26 was over four million tonnes, and over two million tonnes was sold. The state can export up to 20 million tonnes per annum of freshly extracted iron ore, in line with the Supreme Court cap.A senior official said public hearings are pending for some mineral blocks, while others have completed hearings but will receive consent to operate only after obtaining environmental clearances. State govt is developing a mechanism to allocate maximum production limits for auctioned mineral blocks to comply with the 20 million tonnes export limit.
