Union Minister of Mines Dinsha J. Patel on Tuesday said that there was no scarcity of iron ore in the country even after a blanket ban on mining of the commodity in Goa and Karnataka.
“Our country has a steel production capacity of 60-70 million tonnes. Each tonne of steel requires about 1.6 mt of iron ore. We have that much production happening,’’ Patel told media persons at the National Conference on Mining in India organised by Assocham.
He said that his Ministry was seeking “legal opinion’’ from the Law Ministry on the mining ban issue.
Currently, the Supreme Court is hearing the case on iron ore mining. “The matter is in court. The Ministry is giving representations to the apex court,’’ Patel said.
He added that by 2020, India would have 100 mt of steel production capacity and there would be sufficient iron ore to feed the steel mills.
Last October, the Supreme Court suspended mining in Goa. A similar ban is in effect in Karnataka.
However, the apex court in September allowed 18 mines that were found not involved in any illegal activity, to operate.