25 JUL, 2012, PTI
NEW DELHI: Vedanta group firm Sesa Goa today said it expects to resume mining in Karnataka by October as its Reclamation and Rehabilitation (R&R) plan has been cleared by an apex court-appointed panel earlier this month.
Approval of R&R plan by the apex court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) and its proper implementation was the foremost condition put by the Supreme Court to resume mining, when it had agreed to partially lift in April the mining ban in Karnataka with certain conditions.
"(After CEC's permission) all other approvals have to be taken, including Supreme Court approval, for our mine because we are in Category 'B'. So, I think in a couple of months it should start. By October, we can expect mining to begin," Sesa Goa's Managing Director P K Mukherjee told PTI.
Sesa Goa now requires Supreme Court's approval to resume mining as its mine falls in category-B as per the CEC categorisation of mines in Karnataka.
Besides, the company would also require a fresh environmental clearance from Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) as it has been fixed as one of the mandatory conditions by the apex court.
While approving the R&R plan of Sesa Goa, the CEC has scaled down company's production limit to 2.29 million tonnes (MT) per year, though the iron ore miner has the capacity to produce 6 MT from its Chitradurga mine.
The CEC decision came following an apex court order of limiting production to 25 MT in Bellary and 5 MT together in Tumkur and Chitradurga districts.
Exuding confidence that Sesa Goa can produce upto 2.29 MT from Karnataka during the current fiscal despite losing six months of the year, Mukherjee said that it would depend on CEC's permission.
"That (producing 2.29 MT in the current fiscal) should not be any problem, if we are permitted because when the mining was stopped (in the state), we were running a capacity of 6 MT," he said.
According to Mukherjee, implementation of the R&R plan would require about Rs 8-10 crore investment for the company.
Closure of operations in Karnataka due to a blanket mining ban imposed by the Supreme Court across the state last year had led to a decline of 27 per cent in iron ore miner's production in 2011-12.
Talking about company's Liberia (in West Africa) venture, the Sesa Goa MD said that first shipment from the project will happen in 2013-14 and the company is currently surveys and mineralogy mapping of its iron ore reserves.
He further said that company has plans to invest about Rs 400-450 crore on the venture this year though the full capex will be decided by December-end.
NEW DELHI: Vedanta group firm Sesa Goa today said it expects to resume mining in Karnataka by October as its Reclamation and Rehabilitation (R&R) plan has been cleared by an apex court-appointed panel earlier this month.
Approval of R&R plan by the apex court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) and its proper implementation was the foremost condition put by the Supreme Court to resume mining, when it had agreed to partially lift in April the mining ban in Karnataka with certain conditions.
"(After CEC's permission) all other approvals have to be taken, including Supreme Court approval, for our mine because we are in Category 'B'. So, I think in a couple of months it should start. By October, we can expect mining to begin," Sesa Goa's Managing Director P K Mukherjee told PTI.
Sesa Goa now requires Supreme Court's approval to resume mining as its mine falls in category-B as per the CEC categorisation of mines in Karnataka.
Besides, the company would also require a fresh environmental clearance from Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) as it has been fixed as one of the mandatory conditions by the apex court.
While approving the R&R plan of Sesa Goa, the CEC has scaled down company's production limit to 2.29 million tonnes (MT) per year, though the iron ore miner has the capacity to produce 6 MT from its Chitradurga mine.
The CEC decision came following an apex court order of limiting production to 25 MT in Bellary and 5 MT together in Tumkur and Chitradurga districts.
Exuding confidence that Sesa Goa can produce upto 2.29 MT from Karnataka during the current fiscal despite losing six months of the year, Mukherjee said that it would depend on CEC's permission.
"That (producing 2.29 MT in the current fiscal) should not be any problem, if we are permitted because when the mining was stopped (in the state), we were running a capacity of 6 MT," he said.
According to Mukherjee, implementation of the R&R plan would require about Rs 8-10 crore investment for the company.
Closure of operations in Karnataka due to a blanket mining ban imposed by the Supreme Court across the state last year had led to a decline of 27 per cent in iron ore miner's production in 2011-12.
Talking about company's Liberia (in West Africa) venture, the Sesa Goa MD said that first shipment from the project will happen in 2013-14 and the company is currently surveys and mineralogy mapping of its iron ore reserves.
He further said that company has plans to invest about Rs 400-450 crore on the venture this year though the full capex will be decided by December-end.
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