HC in Goa stays despatch of old ore of ex lessee- Mineira Nacional Limitada

The High Court of Bombay at Goa has ordered a halt to transportation of subgrade ore that was being transported by Mineira Nacional Limitada from its mine, TC No.62/51. The interim relief was granted to a petition filed by the NGO, Goa Foundation challenging permission granted to the company, under clauses that give lessees six months after the end of their lease terms to remove previously mined material.

MNL had applied for permission to remove 2.5 million tonnes of ore of Fe 51 % (valued at INR 230 crores) from a dump that lies half within and half outside its lease boundary. It has dispatched half this material already.

The area was mined until 2012 and is not among the 88 that the Goa government renewed after being told by the SC that all leases in the state had lapsed in 2007. By virtue of not being one of those 88 whose renewals were cancelled, MNL owned by Salgaocar Mining Industries believes its lease stood extended until March 2002 by the 2015 amendment to the MMDR Act.

It applied to move its material in January of this year, more than six months after the lease had lapsed. The state government whose mining revenues had dried up significantly offered it the benefit of the force majeure that ex-lessees in Odisha had to fight for. It told the court this ore mined prior to 2007 and was subgrade and thus not inventoried and auctioned off, as other material had been.

Goa Foundation argued that the SC's order covered all material that now belonged to the state. Dumps, particularly outside the lease, could not be touched until the SC had considered a six-member committee's recommendations. It also raised questions on the DMG's inspection team stating that more than half the material or 2.5 million tonnes of this 4.55 million tonne dump, spread over 28 ha, fit into 5.2 ha of it that falls within the lease. The HC's Saturday order underlines this bit. The bench of Justice Revati Mhite Dere and Justice M S Jawalkar had asked for the Assistant Geologist to be present in court to vouch for this inspection report. Respondents, the state government, the state's mining department and the Ministry of Mines at the Centre have two weeks to file affidavits.