Panaji: A Geological Survey of India (GSI) survey conducted in Goa found that the state’s low-grade iron ore dumps contain critical minerals, and state govt is exploring whether it is economically viable to extract them.GSI has submitted its report to the directorate of mines and geology (DMG), including a list of critical minerals available in the state. DMG director Narayan Gad said that GSI has confirmed the presence of critical minerals in Goa.DMG collected 20 samples from a low-grade iron ore dump and sent them to GSI for analysis.The exercise is part of the national critical mineral mission (NCMM), which seeks to boost domestic production and recovery of critical minerals from sources such as overburden, mine tailings, fly ash, red mud and existing mines. The mission also proposes easing regulations to encourage extraction from such deposits.Last month, Goa’s iron ore industry reached a significant milestone as companies began handling low-grade ore dumps for the first time in the state’s history. The development comes in the wake of state-led auctions that placed 25 dumps under new management and granted four dumps to former mining lessees. The total quantity of dumps is around 50 million tonnes.Full-fledged mining is expected to resume in Goa from Oct and is likely to generate around Rs 1,000 crore in revenue.Mining in Goa has been halted since 2018 following a Supreme Court decision on mining leases. As part of efforts to restart mining-related activity, state govt auctioned 20 iron ore dumps. In the latest phase, 20 of the 24 dumps offered received bids.Chowgule and Company commenced its operation at the Pale iron ore dump, the first dump to be operationalised under the Goa policy for regulating iron ore dump handling, 2023.Supreme Court permitted Goa govt to undertake dump mining in line with an expert committee’s recommendations, following which the state notified the iron ore dump handling policy, 2023, on Sept 14, 2023.The policy provides a framework to manage nearly 700 million tonnes of low-grade iron ore lying within and outside mining lease areas across Goa and allows the export of up to 25 million tonnes annually through dump-handling operations.
