Round 3: State to e-auction three mineral blocks today

Panaji: The third e-auction of mineral blocks for Codli, Curpem-Sulcorna, and Onda will begin Tuesday. Around 10 mining companies have submitted 19 bids for the three blocks with about 70% of these companies being from outside the state.

A year and a half after the last auction of five mineral blocks in Jan 2023, state govt has put up for auction these three iron ore mineral blocks, two in South and one in North Goa. Officials will scrutinise bids and declare qualified bidders for the auction.

Govt has received around eight bids for Onda, seven for Codli, and five for Curpem. Some companies have bid for multiple blocks, while twenty-four mining companies attended the pre-bid conference. Successful bidders must obtain various clearances, including forest, wildlife, environmental, and groundwater clearances, as well as ‘consent to establish’, licences for explosives, permission to open mines, consents from gram sabhas, and approval of mining plans from the Indian Bureau of Mines.

So far, govt has conducted two successful auctions of nine mineral blocks, with only one company starting operations and a few others receiving environmental clearances. Govt has instructed the directorate of mines and geology (DMG) to fast-track the auction of new iron ore mineral blocks and low-grade iron ore dumps, and to e-auction the iron ore lying across the state. Recently, chief minister Pramod Sawant said that “external forces” inside and outside the country are attempting to thwart mining in Goa.

State govt has decided to develop a mechanism to allocate maximum production limits for the auctioned mineral blocks, as the Supreme Court has set a limit of 20 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) for export from the state.


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