Team Herald
PANJIM: The State government earned an amount of Rs 389.23 crore during the 25th e-auction process held in March.
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However, only 55 per cent of the ore, lying at various jetties, lease sites and ports, found takers.
As per the bid-sheet released by the Directorate of Mines and Geology, around 8.99 lakh tonnes of the 1.6 million tonnes of ore was purchased during the e-auction fetching revenue of Rs 389.23 crore.
Sources informed that there is decreasing demand for low grade iron ore in the international market as a result of which, the response from the bidders was low.
The e-auction was conducted through the Metal Scrap Trading Corporation (MSTC).
The 24th e-auction process was held in November 2020; before that in May, last year.
The e-auction process which began 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 too evoked poor response.
Till date, DMG had sold 13.50 million tonnes of ore of the total 15.5 million tonnes, generating revenue of around Rs 1,800 crore.
The iron ore is current lying across various sites in Rivona, Collem, Advalpal, Usgao, Shigao, Kotambi, etc, as well as at beneficiary plants and jetties.
The fresh extraction of iron ore has been halted in the State since mid-March 2018, following Supreme Court order that quashed second renewals granted to 88 leases.
