NEW DELHI: State-owned miner NMDC said there were no valid reasons for the Karnataka government to keep the extension of Donimalai mine lease on hold.
The Donimalai mine, with a capacity of seven million tonnes per annum, was mired in controversy over renewal resulting in the cancellation of lease last year subsequently halting the production from the mine. "If CG gov (Chhattisgarh government) can extend 29 MT (million tonnes) leases under the same act and rules, there are no valid reasons for Karnataka to keep it on hold during the possible disruption times," NMDC CMD N Baijendra Kumar tweeted.
It may be recalled that the Chhattisgarh government had earlier extended leases of four mines of NMDC’s Bailadila deposit to avoid interruptions in iron ore supply.
The firm, which has been in the business of mining iron ore for over six decades, operates three iron-ore complexes in the country. NMDC is poised to win a multi-billion-dollar contract to explore and mine diamonds at a large project abandoned by global miner Rio Tinto.
Madhya Pradesh has asked the miner to explore the Bunder deposits, which could contain millions of carats of diamonds, said Neeraj Mandloi, principal secretary, state mineral resource department.