New mining policy to come up by year end: Reddy

Mumbai, Nov 2 (UNI) The new mining policy which seeks to provide greater concessions to the industry and removal of red-tapism will be in place by the year end, Union Minister of State for Mining T Subbarami Reddy said today.

Speaking at the fourth Diamond and Gold Convention held here, Mr Reddy said, ''the policy draft has almost been finalised and only a couple of Acts have to be amended.'' The new policy will enable prospecting firms to automatically get the licensee and lease to exploit their find and also transfer their finds to other companies for further processing. The lease will be for 25 years as per international norms, with foreign mining companies having the right to choose their local partners.

Under the new policy, companies will also be able to seek the help of a tribunal if their papers are not processed within 14 months.

Mr Reddy said that according to findings almost 14,000 tonnes of gold is available for mining in Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Rajashtan and Maharashtra.

With 12 gold and eight diamond foreign mining companies already in the fray, including global leaders like De Beers and Rio Tinto, Mr Reddy said that he expects Rs 10 lakh crore to be invested in the next 10 years and gold and diamonds worth Rs 25,000 crore to be extracted within the next three years.

UNI