This refers to the edit “Major miner problems” (December 23). We must realise that by exporting our ore during the last 40 years, we were getting inadequate value for our scarce natural resource. Perhaps in the past the exports were necessary. But what was justifiable 30 or 40 years ago, when our steel-making capacity was limited and so were our requirements, may not be justifiable now. With very good growth in the construction, engineering and automobile industry during the last 20 years, the situation today is different. Our steel requirement has gone up considerably. We have built modern steel plants and there is no reason to believe that these cannot make use of the iron ore produced in our mines.
If any technological changes or upgrades are needed in our steel plants to use the low-grade iron ore produced by Goan mines, I believe that this can be done. Thus, this is the right time to reconsider our iron ore exports. It will be difficult and unwise to ban the exports immediately but sooner or later we must consider banning them altogether.
Narendra M Apte, Pune
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