The mines of East Singhbhum are shining bright for offshore investors with Western Australian firm India Resource Limited (IRL) eyeing iron ore and manganese mining prospects in the agricultural hub of Patamda block.
The firm, whose New Delhi-based office has already applied for a prospective mining licence, is likely to draft and submit relevant documents to the East Singhbhum district mining department in a few days.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Calcutta-based senior manager of IRL Prabhat Dubey said they had applied for a mining licence with the state administration as per mineral concession norms of Government of India.
“We have applied for permission for setting up mines in Saharjoda and Paharpur areas of Patamda block near Jamshedpur,” Dubey said. He added that the company had already proven its repute at the Surda Copper Mines in Ghatshila, which had been operating successfully since 2007, and were hence hopeful of getting a go-ahead for the Patamda mining project as well.
Acquiring land for the project, according to Dubey, would not be a problem as they had already initiated talks with the raiyats (original land-owners) who had responded favourably to the compensation package that was being offered in accordance with the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act.
“We are a bit anxious about the threat from rebels in the region. But we have had a discussion in this regard with our counterparts in Surda (in Musaboni block of Ghatshila) which is also rebel-hit. We are confident that we will be able to deal with the problem,” he said. The firm has applied for a licence to mine 35.5 acres in Patamda.
Confirming the development, district mining officer Naman Bage said they had received an application from the company on Monday.
“We have asked them to furnish some documents along with the documents after which it will be routed to the East Singhbhum deputy commissioner’s office through the mining directorate and the secretariat. After a proper scrutiny, the application will be sent to the state cabinet for approval.
“After a government nod, a three-year lease period will be granted to the company to start mining,” he said.
Bage added that this was the first application for mining that they had received for Patamda, which was predominantly an agricultural area with more than 65,217 acres (of the available 1,25,425 acres) under cultivation.
Notably, IRL has developed a close commercial alliance with Hindustan Copper Limited (a Government of India enterprise), the sole integrated producer of primary copper in the country and operates plants and mines in various parts of India.
Some of the major IRL ventures include Khetri Copper Complex in Rajasthan (ore mines, concentrator, smelter and refinery plants), Malanjkhand Copper Project in Madhya Pradesh (ore mine and concentrator), Taloja Copper Project in Maharashtra (continuous cast copper complex) and Indian Copper Complex in the state (concentrator, smelter, refinery and wire bar plants).
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