PANJIM: A total of 7.76
million tonnes of stacked iron ore will be up for e-auction in the 15th
and the final phase of e-auction, undertaken as per Supreme Court directives.
The date for the final phase is yet to be announced.
The
Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) had identified 15 million tonnes of ore,
stacked at jetties, lease sites, ports, for e-auction,
of which 7.24 million tonnes have been auctioned till date, bringing in revenue
of over Rs 910 crore.
DMG in an
order issued on Monday listed the entire remaining stock of 7.76 million tonnes
for e-auction, which is expected to be held in another 12 days. The last
e-auction was held on December 24, last year.
The grade
of the ore ranges between 62 Fe content to as low as 38 Fe content and is
stacked at 379 lots. The e-auction process that started in February 2014 drew a
poor response from bidders as a result of falling international prices of low
grade ore coupled with 10 percent export duty.
In the last
two years, DMG managed to e-auction only 7.24 million tonnes of ore, of which
more than 50 percent continue to remain at the sites. Hardly three million tonnes
of ore have been either exported to China or transported for local consumption
in States like Karnataka and Chhattisgarh.
The
e-auction is undertaken under supervision of the Apex Court appointed Committee
headed by Dr U V Singh. As
per SC directives, DMG has to reimburse extraction cost incurred by
the mining companies and traders, whose ore was e-auctioned.
