After 2 yr gap Iron ore mining at Donimalai to resume soon

Bellari: Iron ore mining at Donimalai in Bellari district, which had been stopped since 2018 will be resumed soon and the state government is expecting to earn revenue of Rs 647 crore a year from it.

This was decided at a cabinet meeting here. Donimalai is rich in iron ore and was in the custody of state-owned NMDC for 50 years when its lease period ended in 2018, sources in the government privy to the issue said.

Since then the renewal did not happen as Karnataka wanted a premium of 80 percent, which NMDC did not agree to, the sources said, adding that the state was losing GST, royalty, premium, economic activities around Donimalai, and employment opportunities to the people working there.

“We have resolved that the impediment pertaining to NMDC mine lease is removed. Consent has been given to start mining at Donimalai in Sandur Taluk,” law and parliamentary affairs minister J C Madhuswamy said at a media briefing after the cabinet meeting.

The state had been losing revenue ever since the mining was stopped, he said and recalled that Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and Union Minister for Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi had held a meeting last month and resolved to sort out the matter.

“The Karnataka government expects to earn a revenue of Rs 647 crore a year from the mine,” he said.