Odisha to set up unit for mineral exploration

To boost industrial and mining activities in the state, the Odisha government today decided to set up Odisha Mineral Exploration Corporation.
The new unit, which would be set up as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), will undertake exploration to prove the mineralised/ore bearing virgin areas for facilitating auction of mineral blocks.
The state cabinet in its meeting today also decided to make provision to allow Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) to go for export of ore and suitably amend IPR provision to facilitate investment.
"The objectives of the proposed Odisha Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (OMECL) are to undertake scientific mineral exploration to prove the mineralised/ore bearing virgin area of the state to aleast G2 level of UNFC for facilitating auction of mineral blocks," said Chief Secretary A P Padhi.

Stating that the proposed organisation may also take up sponsored exploration work from various mining lease holders and organisations, Padhi said Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) will set it up as its 100 per cent subsidiary company.
The initial paid up capital may be Rs 5 crore or such other amount as may be decided by OMC out of total authorised capital of Rs 20 crore, the chief secretary said.

The proposed OMECL will take up exploration in such areas as may be decided by the state government or OMC and also enter into MoU with the government for exploration, he said.

Replying a question, Padhi said the cost of exploration of mineral blocks entrusted to OMECL by the government will be reimbursed to the corporation by the government either by way of subsidy or by recovering the cost of exploration from the bidder at the time of auction.
Padhi said besides providing virgin/free hold area to
G2 level, OMECL will take up other exploration activities like remote sensing study, geological mapping, geophysical investigation, core logging, preservation and recording of basic date, sampling and analysis, data interpretation and co-relation, 3D modeling, preparation of plans and sections, reserve/resource estimation and others.
With a large volume of ore remaining unsold for a long time in Odisha, the state government today decided to allow OMC to sell mineral to end-user industries having their own mining leases to the extent of shortfall quantity of minerals on the recommendation of the committee chaired by secretary of industries department on annual supply agreement.

"The Cabinet also today allowed to dispose the material remaining unsold after meeting the requirement of long term linkage, annual supply agreement and e-auction, including its export," the chief secretary said.
This, he said, will enable OMC to meet the requirement of minerals of state based end-user industries and to dispose the stocks remaining un disposed after meeting the requirement of state based industries and successful bidders in e-auction.
"Further, this will enable OMC to take up export of mineral," Padhi said.
The cabinet also decided to amend the Industrial Policy Resolution-2015 making provision to allow industries to avail land at the IPR rate instead of the prevailing bench mark value of land by the revenue department.

Similarly, the land registration, ground rent and cess will be fixed at the rate of IPR - 2015 instead of the revenue department's fixed price, Padhi said.
With the state government receiving some investment proposals from chocolate manufacturing company Cadbury, Haldiram, the Cabinet today decided to bring "sweet and savouries" units under the purview of the IPR-2015.
Padhi said the cabinet decided investment proposal from sweet and savouries units worth Rs 20 lakh in industrially backward areas and Rs 50 lakh in other regions will get the facilities available under IPR-2015.