Goa board worried over mining rejects being dumped in reservoir

September 11th, 2009 PANAJI - The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has opposed the state government's proposal to levy land replenishment and other "green" cess on the mining industry. In a post-budget memorandum submitted to the chief minister Friday, GCCI president Cesar Menezes said that the Rs.30 per tonne of mining reject cess was very steep and would be detrimental to the mining industry.

September 9th, 2009 PANAJI - More than a week after the deadline issued by the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) for submission of documentation from 78 mining companies, the board is still "not sure" about the number of companies who have complied with the notice, indicating that its proposed action against illegal mining may have hit a trough. "We are still in the process of compiling the number of replies received.

September 9th, 2009 PANAJI - Mining in Goa's hinterland is eating into the state's cashew production, growers of the nut say. "Some of the best plantations in north and south Goa are being destroyed by mining activities," said Goa Cashew Manufacturers Association president Madhav Sahakari here Wednesday.

August 14th, 2009 PANAJI - The Goa environment ministry ordered the closure of 12 mines last week for their proximity to wildlife sanctuaries, but the government's new draft mineral policy allows mining in close vicinity of the protected areas. The draft mining policy, which was tabled during the budget session of the Goa legislative assembly, clearly advocates mining near the state's wildlife sanctuaries, which are a part of the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats.

July 28th, 2009 PANAJI - Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat Tuesday said the ecologically crucial Western Ghats would not be allowed to be mined. The assurance from Kamat, who is also the minister for mines, came after sustained protests against illegal mining from the opposition members throughout the monsoon session of the state assembly.

July 24th, 2009 PANAJI - Goa's Leader of Opposition Manohar Parrikar has alleged that nearly one-fifth of the state's mineral exports are illegally mined. Speaking during the question hour of the budget session of the Goa legislative assembly Friday, Parrikar also charged the government with being hand-in-glove with the illegal mining lobby.

June 28th, 2009 12 China officials jailed for deadly landslideBEIJING — A Chinese court has jailed 12 officials for a mine accident last year that triggered a landslide which swept through a northern village and killed at least 277 people, an official said Sunday. The officials were sentenced to one to five years on charges of negligence and abuse of power, said an official with the Xiangfen county government in Shanxi province who would only give his surname.

June 13th, 2009 PANAJI - Local politicians have been protecting the illegal mining industry that has led to degradation of environment in Goa, Assembly Speaker Pratapsing Rane said. "Illegal mines in Goa are protected by politicians like me.

June 11th, 2009 PANAJI - Goa's biggest family-owned mining company, the Dempo group, has sold all its mining assets to Sesa Goa Limited, a majority-owned subsidy of the London-listed Vedanta Resources, for Rs.1,750 crore (Rs.17.50 billion/$368 million) in an all-cash deal. Addressing the media in Panaji late Thursday evening, chairman and managing director of the Dempo group, Srinivas Dempo, said that the 19 iron ore mines in Goa controlled by the V.S.

June 6th, 2009 Landslide in Chinese mining region buries 78BEIJING — Rescuers searched for 78 missing people Saturday after a landslide buried an iron ore plant and several homes in a valley in southwestern China. Seven people were rescued, three of which were seriously injured, said an official with the propaganda office in the city of Chongqing, who would only give her surname, Zhu.

June 5th, 2009 Landslide in Chinese mining region buries 59BEIJING — At least 59 people were buried by a landslide Friday in the southwestern Chinese iron mining region of Chongqing, safety officials said. Those buried included 50 miners and nine residents of remote Tiekuang, or "iron mine," township, said an official with the Chongqing work safety supervision bureau, who would give only his surname, Dong, because he was not authorized to speak to media.

May 31st, 2009 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has asked the industry department to take a tough stand against 14 mining companies that failed to fulfil their commitment of planting saplings, an official said Sunday. The industry department is now planning to cancel the mining leases of the companies, both public and private, blaming them for "environment neglect".

April 21st, 2009 PANAJI - If the Third Front comes to power at the centre after the Lok Sabha polls, it will nationalise the Rs.6,000-crore mining industry of Goa, which is largely at the hands of private players, a senior leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI) said Tuesday. Addressing a press conference at the party's headquarters here, CPI general secretary A.B.

March 24th, 2009 PANAJI - The Goa government will phase out 14 operational mining leases located near the catchment area of the Selaulim dam, which supplies water to nearly 500,000 people, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said here Monday. 'All these 14 mining leases will be phased out in the next two or three years because of their proximity to the reservoir,' Kamat told the state assembly.

February 24th, 2009 PANAJI - Goa's Rs.60-billion (Rs.6,000-crore) low-grade iron ore exports are expected to fall 50 percent this fiscal, an industry leader said here Monday. While exports this year have shown a marginal drop in terms of volumes, the actual revenue earned has shrunk considerably, Shivanand Salgaocar, president of the Mineral Ore Foundation (MOF), told reporters.