CM highlights sustainable mining benefits

Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said that govt is accelerating mining activities in the state with a focus on environmental protection and scientific exploration.

Sawant inaugurated the workshop on Mineral Exploration in Goa: Challenges, Opportunities & the Way Forward, organised by the directorate of mines & geology in collaboration with the Union ministry of mines (NMET), GSI, and MECL at Kautilya Lekha Bhavan, Porvorim.

“The workshop exemplifies our commitment to ease of doing business, sustainable resource management, exploration of critical and rare earth minerals, and knowledge-driven growth in partnership with academic and research institutions,” the chief minister said.

“Goa is ushering in a new era of responsible, sustainable, and transparent mining – backed by progressive policies like e-auctioning and the dump policy and accelerated by a focus on environmental protection, community engagement, and scientific exploration,” he added.

Govt auctioned 12 mineral blocks, but only two started operations. Govt has decided to develop a mechanism to allocate maximum production limits for the auctioned mineral blocks, as the Supreme Court set a limit of 20 million tonnes for export from the state.

Mining activities came to a halt in Sept 2012 following the tabling of the Shah Commission report in Parliament. Mining activities resumed in 2015 but were halted in March 2018 for the second time after the Supreme Court quashed the second renewal of 88 mining leases.

Goa’s mining industry kick-started operations on April 4, 2024, after a six-year shutdown, with Vedanta Sesa Goa beginning fresh extraction of ore at the Bicholim mineral block — block I.

Recently, the directorate of mines and geology (DMG) granted final approval to Chowgule and Company Pvt Ltd to handle 3 lakh tonnes of low-grade iron ore at Shirgao.