Vedanta seeks alternate mine for Lanjigarh refinery
5 July 2014 4:44 AM IST
After failing to get local gram panchayats' nod for mining bauxite in Niyamgiri hills, Vedanta Resources is now engaging with the Odisha government for allotment of mines elsewhere besides considering procuring bauxite from alternative sources. The Niyamgiri hill area is one of the sources in Odisha for supply of bauxite to the firm's alumina refinery at Lanjigarh. Vedanta has already made it clear that it would not consider developing any bauxite resources, including Niyamgiri mines, without the invitation and consent of local communities.
Vedanta had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Odisha Government which assures supply of 150 million tonnes of bauxite for its processing facility in the state.
‘We are actively working with the Odisha state government to agree the allocation of other bauxite mines. The company is also considering sourcing bauxite from alternative sources to support the existing and expanded refinery operations,’ it said in its annual report.
The government earlier in the year had turned down Vedanta's mining proposal in the area after the verdict of 12 gram sabhas. All the 12 gram sabhas held in July-August last year had unanimously expressed opposition to the mining operation in the hills saying it would violate their social, cultural and religious rights. The tribal villages, located on the hill slopes, are part of Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. They were selected after a Supreme Court order directed the Odisha government to conduct meetings of gram sabhas for deciding whether mining will impact the religious, community and cultural rights of the villagers, especially their right to worship Niyam Raja, the deity.
With regard to the expansion project at Lanjigarh, which has one million tonne per annum (mtpa) capacity, Vedanta said its fresh application for environmental clearance was under consideration.
‘In the meantime, expansion plans are on hold,’ Vedanta said. However, following resumption of operations at Lanjigarh refinery in July 2013, the facility ramped up well and had delivered 5.24 lakh tonnes production through to March 2014. In last quarter of 2013-14 fiscal, it had 91 per cent capacity utilisation. Over the issue of resuming mining in Goa, the firm hopes to start iron ore production from its mines in the second half of this financial year. ‘We are engaging with the state government and the Ministry of Environment and Forest to gain approvals for starting mining on our leases in Goa, and we expect production to start in the second half of the financial year,’ Vedanta said in its annual report.
The Supreme Court in April this year had lifted the ban on mining in Goa with certain conditions. The ruling imposed an interim restriction on the maximum annual excavation at 20 million tonnes per annum from the mining leases in the state.
‘This restriction (of 20 million tonnes) was subject to a determination of final capacity by the expert committee appointed by the court. The court also ruled that all mining leases in the state of Goa, including those of Sesa Sterlite, expired in 2007,’ it said. As a result, no mining operations can be carried out until the renewal and execution of mining lease deeds by the state government. At the close of the reporting year, the company was working towards securing the necessary permissions to resume operations at the earliest opportunity.
The court further directed that the entire sale value arising out of the e-auction of inventories should be appropriated for various purposes specified in the order, with only the average cost of excavation of iron ores to be paid to the mining lessees. Further, all sales of iron ore will attract a payment of 10 per cent of the sale price to be made by all lessees to the Goa Iron Ore Permanent Fund.
Vedanta had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Odisha Government which assures supply of 150 million tonnes of bauxite for its processing facility in the state.
‘We are actively working with the Odisha state government to agree the allocation of other bauxite mines. The company is also considering sourcing bauxite from alternative sources to support the existing and expanded refinery operations,’ it said in its annual report.
The government earlier in the year had turned down Vedanta's mining proposal in the area after the verdict of 12 gram sabhas. All the 12 gram sabhas held in July-August last year had unanimously expressed opposition to the mining operation in the hills saying it would violate their social, cultural and religious rights. The tribal villages, located on the hill slopes, are part of Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. They were selected after a Supreme Court order directed the Odisha government to conduct meetings of gram sabhas for deciding whether mining will impact the religious, community and cultural rights of the villagers, especially their right to worship Niyam Raja, the deity.
With regard to the expansion project at Lanjigarh, which has one million tonne per annum (mtpa) capacity, Vedanta said its fresh application for environmental clearance was under consideration.
‘In the meantime, expansion plans are on hold,’ Vedanta said. However, following resumption of operations at Lanjigarh refinery in July 2013, the facility ramped up well and had delivered 5.24 lakh tonnes production through to March 2014. In last quarter of 2013-14 fiscal, it had 91 per cent capacity utilisation. Over the issue of resuming mining in Goa, the firm hopes to start iron ore production from its mines in the second half of this financial year. ‘We are engaging with the state government and the Ministry of Environment and Forest to gain approvals for starting mining on our leases in Goa, and we expect production to start in the second half of the financial year,’ Vedanta said in its annual report.
The Supreme Court in April this year had lifted the ban on mining in Goa with certain conditions. The ruling imposed an interim restriction on the maximum annual excavation at 20 million tonnes per annum from the mining leases in the state.
‘This restriction (of 20 million tonnes) was subject to a determination of final capacity by the expert committee appointed by the court. The court also ruled that all mining leases in the state of Goa, including those of Sesa Sterlite, expired in 2007,’ it said. As a result, no mining operations can be carried out until the renewal and execution of mining lease deeds by the state government. At the close of the reporting year, the company was working towards securing the necessary permissions to resume operations at the earliest opportunity.
The court further directed that the entire sale value arising out of the e-auction of inventories should be appropriated for various purposes specified in the order, with only the average cost of excavation of iron ores to be paid to the mining lessees. Further, all sales of iron ore will attract a payment of 10 per cent of the sale price to be made by all lessees to the Goa Iron Ore Permanent Fund.
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