Sierra Leone woos miners to clean energy with $11 billion plan
Most mining firms rely on their own diesel supplies to extract iron ore, diamonds, rutile and bauxite in the resource-rich country.
As reported today by Reuters, India’s southern Karnataka state recommended that eight iron ore mines be approved to resume operations with total capacity of 5.5 million tonnes per year.
It is expected that a court decision will rule on other mining approvals in India’s Karnataka state by Thursday, said H. R. Srinivasa, director of the department of mines and geology, talking to Reuters.
The two-year old ban, which has effectively halved export from Karnataka, was issued by India’s Supreme court in July 2011.
The ban, originally planned to stifle illegal mining, has seen other iron rich nations like Australia and Brazil fill the gap that was left after the World’s No. 3 supplier, Karnataka, was barred from exporting any of its reserve.
Mine owners and their 150,000 now-jobless employees aren’t the only forces applying pressure to revoke the ban. Lawmakers are reeling at the loss in state revenue as a consequence of the ban – roughly 40 billion rupees ($720 million).
“The situation is extremely fluid as far as iron ore situation in Karnataka is concerned. Karnataka should be allowed to export iron ore like the rest of India,” said Basant Poddar, managing director with Mineral Enterprises, in a report by LiveMint.
In fact, the ban was altered in April 2012 by the Supreme Court to allow certain mining operations to continue. But, to date, state government has chosen not to implement the court order nor have they approved a new mine in over 20 years.
