Panaji: State government has successfully auctioned four of the six mineral blocks put up for bidding. Anand Minerals and Venkateshwara Rao have been declared successful bidders for two blocks each, director of mines and geology Narayan Gad told TOI.The four blocks were awarded at bids exceeding 100% of the reserve price, which government has set at 25%. For instance, if the Indian Bureau of Mines’ price is Rs 100 per tonne for low-grade iron ore and a company bids at 22% of the reserve price, it must pay Rs 22 per tonne to govt.Gad said two blocks, mineral block 15 at Pissurlem and mineral block 18 at Cavorem, Maina, were not auctioned after mining firms moved court over separate issues. The directorate of mines and geology (DMG) received 53 bids for the six blocks auctioned on April 16. Vedanta, JSW and Fomento submitted bids for all six blocks.Five of the blocks are iron ore mines in North Goa, while one in South Goa contains both iron ore and manganese deposits. In North Goa, the blocks are located at Cudnem (two), Pissurlem (two) and Advalpal-Moitem (one). The Cavorem–Maina block is in South Goa. Together, the six blocks have reserves of around 170 million tonnes of ore.With these auctions, the state has nearly exhausted 90% of its fresh iron ore extraction capacity. So far, 12 blocks have been auctioned, allowing extraction of about 12.5 million tonnes annually. The six additional blocks will add 6.5 million tonnes, taking the total close to the state’s annual limit of 20 million tonnes.Govt may auction a few more blocks as a capacity of around two million tonnes is still available.
