The Hindu : Business : New mining policy by next month

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Saturday, Nov 03, 2007
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New mining policy by next month

30 companies approach Ministry for gold exploration

— PHOTO: HANDOUT E-MAIL

ATTRACTING FDI: Union Minister of State for Mines T. Subbarami Reddy addressing the fourth international diamond and gold convention in Mumbai on Friday.

MUMBAI: The new mining policy, which is expected to open doors for more foreign direct investment (FDI) in the mining sector, will be announced by December.

“I am confident that the policy will come by December. The Group of Ministers (GoM) has already cleared the proposal. This will be forwarded to Parliament in the winter session,” Minister of State for Mines T. Subbarami Reddy told reporters at a seminar here on Friday.

The new policy was likely to bring in less stringent norms for parties which opt for mining licences, he said.

“Those who possess a prospective licence will automatically get qualified for the mining licences,” Mr. Reddy said.

As many as 30 entities, of which 12 were from overseas, had approached the Ministry for gold exploration while a total of 12 companies, wherein eight were foreign players, had shown interest in diamond exploration, he said.

These included global majors like DBS and Rio Tinto.

With a view to boosting exploration activities, the Government had also sought the assistance of the Geological Survey of India, Mr. Reddy said.

Mr. Reddy said the Government had identified reserves in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

However, States like Chhattisgarh and Orissa were often seen as reluctant to FDI into mining, thinking that this would take away authority from them, Mr. Reddy said. “More foreign investments in these States will, actually, add to their revenue income,” he said. — PTI

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