Iron ore e-auction fetches Goa govt Rs. 7 crore

Goa government has earned Rs. 7 crore through e-auctioning of 55,000 tonnes of iron ore, a senior official said on Wednesday.

“The seventh e-auctioning of ore was held this week. A total of 55,000 tons of iron ore were sold, bringing in revenue of Rs. 7.07 crore,” Mines and Geology department Director Prasanna Acharya told PTI.

The Supreme Court, in its verdict that had lifted the stay on the iron ore extraction activity, has allowed the state government to e-auction the ore which was lying at various places including mining leases, jetties among others.

Mr. Acharya said the Directorate of Mines and Geology has identified a total of 4.72 million tons of ore for e-auction in the eighth phase, which is expected to be held next week.

“Government wants to ensure that the entire 15 million tons of identified ore gets auctioned before October, when the fresh mining extraction is expected,” he added.

The e-auction is conducted through the Metal Scrap Trading Corporation (MSTC) under the supervision of an SC-appointed monitoring committee by the Directorate of Mines and Geology.