Team Herald
PANJIM: After a gap of almost 10 months, Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) has identified 2.4 million tons of iron ore for e-auction, which is likely to be held on May 27.
While DMG has not yet announced the schedule for conducting 23rd e-auction, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant said that the same will be held on May 27.
The 22nd e-auction process was held on August 24, 2019, that received very poor response with hardly 1.7 million tons of ore, of the total 5.34 million tons identified for bidding, being sold.
DMG has now identified 2.49 million tons of ore for e-auction. The ore, which includes lumps and fines, grade varies from as low as 29 Fe content to 60 Fe content. The e-auction will be conducted through metal scrap trading corporation (MSTC).
The e-auction process which had begun in January 2014 following Supreme Court directions was halted in May 2017, after the 21st e-auction. The process was halted following poor response from the bidders due to the falling market prices.
The process resumed in August 2019, however, that also fetched poor response.
Till date, DMG had sold 12 million tons of ore of the total 15.5 millions, generating revenue of around Rs 1142 crore.
