Panaji: The directorate of mines and geology (DMG) has completed a survey of low-grade iron ore dumps across the state and collected samples to determine the presence of critical minerals.DMG collected 20 samples from a low-grade iron ore dump and sent them to the Geological Survey of India (GSI) for analysis. DMG director Narayan Gad said the survey reports have been submitted for detailed analysis. “We are waiting for the reports,” Gad said.The exercise is part of the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), which seeks to boost domestic production and recovery of critical minerals from sources such as overburden, mine tailings, fly ash, red mud and existing mines. The mission also proposes easing regulations to encourage extraction from such deposits.Meanwhile, state govt has auctioned 18 low-grade iron ore dump lots, while the remaining two will go under the hammer on Wednesday. Of the 24 dumps put up for auction, bids were received for 20.In the first phase of the e-auction, only one of the five dumps on offer was successfully auctioned.The second phase covers 24 dumps containing more than 41 million tonnes of low-grade iron ore across Sanguem, Dharbandora, Bicholim and Sattari talukas, besides one in Sirsaim, Bardez. Most are located in South Goa. While most dumps contain between one lakh tonnes and 26 lakh tonnes of ore, the largest, at Sonus in Sattari, has about 10 million tonnes.Around 50 companies have submitted bids, with several bidding for multiple dumps. During the first auction, only the largest dump attracted bids, while the four smaller ones received none.State govt has fixed the reserve price at 22% of the Indian Bureau of Mines benchmark price. This means that if the benchmark price is Rs 100 per tonne, the successful bidder will pay Rs 22 per tonne to govt.The Supreme Court permitted Goa govt to undertake dump mining in line with an expert committee’s recommendations, following which the state notified the Iron Ore Dump Handling Policy, 2023, on Sept 14, 2023.The policy provides a framework to manage nearly 700 million tonnes of low-grade iron ore lying within and outside mining lease areas across Goa and allows the export of up to 25 million tonnes annually through dump-handling operations.
