Panaji: Mining activities are set to resume in South Goa after the state govt received a strong response to its low-grade iron ore dump auctions. Of the 24 dumps put up for e-auction, 20 received bids, while four remained unsold. Of the 14 auctions finalised so far, 13 are for dumps in South Goa.Director of mines and geology Narayan Gad said six more low-grade iron ore dumps, including four in South Goa, will be auctioned next week.“Full-fledged mining activities will soon start in South Goa,” Gad said, adding that most dumps were sold at the reserve price of 22% to 23%.The state fixed the reserve price at 22% of the Indian Bureau of Mines’ notified price. For example, if the bureau’s price is Rs 100 per tonne, the successful bidder must pay govt Rs 22 per tonne.The 24 dumps together contain more than 41 million tonnes of low-grade iron ore. Gad said mining companies have submitted detailed project reports, which will be evaluated by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).In the first phase of the e-auction, only one of five dumps received a successful bid. The second phase covers 24 dumps across Sanguem, Dharbandora, Bicholim and Sattari talukas, besides one in Sirsaim, Bardez. Most are in South Goa. While most dumps contain between 1 lakh and 26 lakh tonnes of ore, the largest, at Sonus in Sattari, holds about 10 million tonnes. In the previous auction, the largest dump attracted bids, while the four smaller dumps received none.The Supreme Court permitted Goa govt to undertake dump mining in line with an expert committee’s recommendations. Subsequently, govt notified the Dump Handling Policy, 2023, on Sept 14, 2023. The policy provides a framework for handling about 700 million tonnes of low-grade iron ore lying within and outside mining leases and allows the export of up to 25 million tonnes annually from dump handling.
