BHUBANESWAR: The State Government has invited tenders for e-auction of two limestone blocks as per the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 2015.
The two mines which are placed for online auction are Garramura limestone block in Nuapada district and Khatkurbahal limestone block in Sundargarh district. The State Government had issued notification for online auction of Ghoraburahani-Sagasahi East iron ore block of Sundargarh district on December 23, 2015.
While the Garramura limestone block has ore reserve of 2.79 million tonnes, the Khatkurbahal block has deposit of around 9.9 million tonnes, Director of Mines Deepak Mohanty said. The auction process will be completed by end of March this year, he added.
The last date for purchase of tender document, after payment of a fee of `5 lakh for each mineral block, on the website of e-auction platform provider is February 5, 2016 and the last date for submission of the bid is February 10, 2016.
While Central PSU MSTC Limited is providing electronic platform for the auction, SBI Capital Markets Ltd (SBI Caps), a subsidiary of State Bank of India, is the transaction advisor.
Detailed tender document along with timelines, notification, updates and other details for e-auction process for the mineral blocks are available in the electronic form only and can be downloaded from the website of MSTC Limited, Mohanty said. Earlier, an inter-departmental committee headed by Development Commissioner had approved 12 iron ore, manganese, limestone and bauxite mines for auction.
The Odisha Space Applications Centre (ORSAC) is conducting the differential global positioning system (DGPS) survey to determine boundaries of the mines.
Meanwhile, DGPS survey of 10 mines has been completed, official sources said.
The State Government will soon issue notification for auction of other mineral blocks, Mohanty added.