Goa to earn Rs 650 crore from harvesting iron ore dumps: CM

Panaji, March 30

The Goa government hopes to earn Rs 650 crore revenue by harvesting iron ore dumps which are littered in the state's mining belt, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Wednesday, even as he said that efforts were being made to restart the state's beleaguered mining industry.

Sawant also told the state legislative assembly in his budget speech that the Goa Mineral Development Corporation, which was floated by the state government last year, would be at the forefront of its efforts to restart mining.

Mining dumps are essentially mountainous heaps of low grade iron ore dumped by mining companies near their mining leases over the decades.

The dumped ore was not processed at the time because of lack of feasibility, during the 2000s mining boom. There are currently over 736 million tonnes of iron ore dumped in mountain-like heaps in Goa's mining belt.

The mining issue has been hanging fire in Goa, ever since the apex court banned extraction and transportation of iron ore from 88 mining leases from March 2018, while also directing the state government to re-issue mining leases.