India: Odisha Government Invites Bids for Sukinda Chromite Mines Auction

The Odisha government is all set to auction the Sukinda chromite mine in Jajpur district which, was earlier 'reserved' for the Odisha Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd. (OMECL), which was previously a subsidiary of Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) but now a full-grown independent agency that can undertake mining activities on its own.

In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 10 (B) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and in accordance with the Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2015 as amended from time to time notified thereunder, the Government of Odisha has identified 2 (two) Minerals Blocks as under for electronic auction and hereby invites tenders for the purposes of grant of Mining Lease:

a) 1 (one) mineral block of Iron Ore

b) 1 (one) mineral block of Chromite

Accordingly, financial bids are invited in digital format only and technical bids are invited both in digital and physical format from eligible bidders. The last date for the purchase of Tender Document after payment of a tender fee on website of e-auction platform provider is Saturday, February 15, 2020, and the last date for submission of the bid is Thursday, February 20, 2020, on or before 12:00 noon (Indian Standard Time).

Previously, Odisha government informed about the decision to reserve the Sukinda Chromite Mining Lease, over 406 hectares of M/s Tata Steel in the district of Jajpur, under section 17A(2) of MMDR Act, in favour of M/s OMECL. A notice-inviting tender for the auction of the Sukinda Chromite Mine, containing 95.8 MnT of chrome ore deposits has been released on 22nd Jan 2020.