The Ministry of Mines has asked the Goa Government to provide details on low-grade ore dumps that have piled up alongside extraction sites in the coastal state by October 18, sources said today.
The Ministry, in a recent meeting held in Delhi, asked the Goa Mines and Geology Department to submit details of the dumped ore, while directing the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) to oversee that information on these dumps was accurately recorded, they said.
The Mines and Geology Department, in its submission to the Ministry of Mines, said 750 million tonnes of ore has piled up in the form of dumps.
Meanwhile, the State Government has ordered the mines “not to handle the dumps till further orders.”
The mining industry in Goa has drawn criticism over allegations of extraction of ore “exceeding the permissible limit“.
The Goa Mineral Ore Exporters Association had stated that the threshold value of ore with low Fe content has fallen since 2009, resulting in the creation of dumps for rejected produce.
The State Mines Director, Mr Arvind Lolienkar, too, confirmed that “these dumps have accumulated over the last 30-40 years.”