BHUBANESWAR: The Ministry of Mines has sought views of all stakeholders including Odisha government to address the issues and shortcomings that come in the way of fixation of average sale price (ASP) of non-coal minerals. The Ministry has sought suggestions from various stakeholders to overcome the issue till the National Mineral Index (NMI) is formulated for individual minerals.
In April, the Mines Ministry had constituted a committee for examining the double calculation of royalty due to its inclusion in calculation of ASP of minerals and developing an NMI for valuation of mineral resources as well as for determination of value for auction of mineral concessions and statutory payments for future auctions.
“The committee has decided to seek comments/suggestions from the governments of states and union territories, mining industry, stakeholders, industry associations and other entities concerned, on the issues and shortcomings in fixation of ASP currently being done and suggest measures to overcome these till NMI is formulated for individual minerals,” said a notice of the Ministry.
The panel under the chairmanship of former coal secretary SK Srivastava has also sought suggestions on the incidence of double calculation of royalty due to its inclusion in calculating ASP.
Under the existing system, the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) determines the price of non-coal minerals. “The value of production of metallic and non-metallic minerals is calculated by multiplying in each case the quantity of production and the ex-mine price (pit’s mouth value) per unit as furnished by mine owners in the returns in all cases except captive mines for which the value is calculated on the basis of the cost of production,” said a senior executive of the mining industry.
Earlier, Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) had urged the Centre to continue with the present system of average sale price published by IBM which it said is the most effective and transparent way to ensure price discovery and revenue to the exchequer.