Registration with Indian Bureau of Mines mandatory for minerals trade, consumers

The government has amended the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, making it mandatory for all miners, traders, stockists, exporters and end-users to register with the Indian Bureau of Mines and report on movement of minerals to the Bureau as well as the concerned state governments.

This will call for end-to-end accounting and will reduce the scope for transportation of illegally mined minerals, including exports of iron ore, minister of state for mines (independent charge) Dinsha Patel said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

A special task force set up by the Indian Bureau of Mines will also conduct inspection of mines in endemic areas by taking the help of satellite imageries, he said.

The task force had carrie out inspections at 434 mines in Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat till 1 December 2011, the minister added.

He said the inspection had led to the suspension of licences for 152 mines. The suspension had been revoked in the case if 96 mines after their compliance with the rules. The task force has recommended termination of eight leases to the state governments.

Twenty-one state governments have so far constituted task forces at state and district levels for monitoring illegal mining, he added.