Odisha To Auction Nine More Mineral Blocks

Representative image of mining in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to electronically auction the mining leases of nine mineral blocks. These include seven blocks of iron ore, one block of iron ore and manganese and one block of manganese.

The blocks up for auction are: Purheibahal, Chandiposhi, Rengalaberha North-East, Gandhalpada, Netrabandha Pahar (West), Dholtapahar, Jumka Pathriposhi, Unchabali and Kalimati.

“All these nine blocks are virgin areas. Bidders, who will bag these blocks would have to develop them for mining,” said director of mines Deepak Mohanty.

According to a notification by the Directorate of Mines, Steel and Mines Department, eligible bidders can submit their financial bids in digital format only. The technical bids are to be both in digital and physical formats.

The eligibility conditions, date and time for participating in the electronic auction are provided in the tender document, which can be downloaded from the website of MSTC Limited (https://www.mstcecommerce.com/auctionhome/mlcl/index.jsp).

The last date for purchase of the tender document after payment of a fee on the website of the e-auction platform provider is November 29. The bids have to be submitted by 12 noon on December 4.

Earlier, the state government had put 20 working mines on auction in two phases as the lease period of these blocks would end on March 31, 2020.

On October 4, a notification was issued for the auction of seven iron ore and three iron ore and manganese blocks while another notification was issued on October 14 for the auction of five iron ore, three iron ore and manganese and two manganese blocks.