Iron ore mining in the western Indian coastal state of Goa is set to resume after a gap of six years, with Vedanta Limited securing a consent order to extract 3 million mt per year from the Bicholim iron ore block, Goa government sources said on Monday, March 25.
Iron ore mining in Goa was halted in March 2018 by a Supreme Court order which held renewal of mining leases in the state illegal as leases were renewed without the mandatory auction process.
The Goa government has in the meantime auctioned nine iron ore blocks, with Vedanta Limited being the first miner to secure a consent order and two more companies in the process of securing approval for the extraction of ore.