NT Reporter
Panaji
The ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEF&CC) has granted environmental clearance to Fomento Resources Pvt Ltd for the Kalay Mineral Block IV in Sanguem taluka.
The mining lease received the green nod for the production of 0.75 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of iron ore.
The lease is expected to get operational after obtaining consent from the Goa State Pollution Control Board and the directorate general of mines safety.
The Kalay block was auctioned on December 21, 2022 during phase I of the bidding process for restart of mining. Fomento Resources had won the bid with an offer of 86.4 per cent revenue share of the average sale price fixed by the Indian Bureau of Mines.
The mining lease has total resources of 20.6 million tonnes with average grade of 56.5 Fe per cent. Of the total 20.6 million tonnes of resources, 3.9 million tonnes are under one km eco-sensitive zone. It covers a total area of 179.2 hectares, of which 82.5 hectares is in mineralised area and the remaining 21.2 hectares in non-mineralised area.
So far, 12 mineral blocks have been auctioned in the state and in phases: four blocks auctioned in phase I, followed by five blocks in phase II and three blocks in phase III.
Of the auctioned blocks, three have started production. The green nod for the 12 auctioned mineral blocks presently covers iron ore production of about 12 million tonne per year.
The Supreme Court has put a cap of 20 million tonnes per year production of iron ore mining in the state. With 8 million tonnes per year of the EC in hand, the government is looking at the 4th round of e-auction of mineral blocks this year.
Iron ore mining activity generated Rs 33.9 crore of revenue to the government this year up to June. The revenue from mining was Rs 109.8 crore in 2024-25.
