Goa draft mineral policy allows mining near sanctuaries

October 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - In a bid to introduce competitive bidding for allocation of coal blocks and benefit consuming industries, the government will soon replace the Mines and Minerals Development Regulation Act, 1957, a senior official said Wednesday. "The new draft bill would be placed before the cabinet soon.

August 31st, 2009 PANAJI - The central government is not in favour of Goa's recommendation to reduce the buffer zones around the sanctuaries in the state, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said here. The central government will not be "sympathetic to any move by the state government to reduce buffer zones in the state's wildlife sanctuaries to zero kilometres", Ramesh told IANS Sunday.

August 14th, 2009 Policy requires proven Grand Canyon mine claimsFLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The reclassification of nearly 1 million acres of land around the Grand Canyon to prevent new mining claims comes with a fundamental change in how the U.S.

August 4th, 2009 RANCHI - Steel projects worth Rs.125,940 crore ($26.4 billion) are hanging in the balance in Jharkhand as the state government is yet to give approvals to them, an industry lobby report said Tuesday. The report by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham), said: "Steel players like ArcelorMittal, Tata Steel and others are waiting for different forms of clearances for the last four years, which otherwise should have been cleared in two years." Releasing the report at a seminar here, Assocham secretary general D.S.

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.

July 17th, 2009 Wyoming Black Hills petition raises legal issueCHEYENNE, Wyo. — A request that a Wyoming panel designate a piece of the Black Hills National Forest as "very rare and uncommon" has raised questions about the state's authority to influence what happens on federal land.

July 3rd, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Giving a boost to its forestry and wildlife, Haryana is all set to declare the distance of up to 5,000 metres surrounding its major national parks and wildlife sanctuaries as eco-sensitive zones. "After the lapse of so many years, our efforts for sustainable development and environment protection has resulted in a draft notification of 10 eco-sensitive zones (surrounding two national parks and eight wildlife sanctuaries) in the state by the union ministry of forest and environment," Haryana Minister of Forests and Environment Kiran Choudhry told reporters here Friday.

June 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government will place the new national mining policy in parliament by the winter session which would allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in the exploration of capital-intensive minerals like copper, nickel and chromium, Minister for Mines B.K. Handique said Monday.

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.

March 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Mining sector output grew 3.03 percent in the first nine months this fiscal as compared to the corresponding period last fiscal, while it was 6.4 percent more in December than that in the corresponding month the year before, fresh statistics revealed Monday. However, production of gold decreased 2.75 percent in December, in comparison to the same month in 2007-08, while copper maintained comparable levels.

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.

March 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - A consumer court Friday directed the authorities and manufacturers of mineral water, who have prescribed the maximum retail price (MRP) at Rs. 20 or higher a bottle, to reduce it to Rs.12 as charging a higher price amounts to unfair trade practice.

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.

January 13th, 2009 MUMBAI - Five state-owned companies forged a pact Wednesday to secure coal assets overseas through a joint venture company. National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC), the country's largest power company, said in a statement that it has signed an agreement with other coal, mineral and steel utilities to float a special purpose vehicle to secure and develop coal assets overseas.

December 30th, 2008 BHOPAL - Rio Tinto India will soon set up a project for production of diamonds in Madhya Pradesh, the state government has said. 'The company has detected a diamond deposit in Chhatarpur district and will soon set up a diamond project for commercial production of diamonds,' Minister of State for Mineral Resources Rajendra Shukla told IANS.