India: Karnataka floats auction notice for three more iron ore blocks

The Karnataka government has put three iron ore-bearing mines to e-auction, as per latest reports. The government is using the MSTC platform for the e-auction.

Interested and eligible bidders can register on the MSTC website. The registered bidders will have to purchase mine-specific tender documents on the MSTC website by paying INR 5 lakh + GST.

The pre-bid conference for invitation of mining bids is to be held today (8 Oct'21) at 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 pm through video conference.

The sale of tender documents on the government's website commenced on 15 Sept'21. The last date for sale of tender documents on the MSTC website is 28 Oct'21. The last date for submission of technical bids along with the initial price offer is 8 Nov'21, by 5 pm.

The physical copies of the technical bids must reach the tender inviting authority ie, Director, Department of Mines and Geology, government of Karnataka, on or prior to 8 Nov'21 before 5 p.m.

The Karnataka government has also put five other iron ore-bearing mines to e-auction in early-Sept'21, as per reports. Four mines have deposits of iron ore while one has both iron and manganese ore. The Supreme Court had previously cancelled certain 'C' category mines in the state on account of illegal mining and had directed the state government to auction the mines for end-users.