Odisha government gears up to auction 30 mineral blocks next month

Nine freehold, 21 lapsing merchant mines to be auctioned

Odisha, the largest producer of iron ore is ready to auction iron ore and associated mineral blocks after the Union mines ministry recently approved the cap in mining lease area limits to 58 square kilometers (sq km) in the state.

Though the state government had cleared nine virgin mineral blocks for electronic auctions last month, the process had to be paused as the mines ministry had called for putting auctions on hold pending a decision on revising mine lease area limits. Earlier, the ministry had relaxed the cap on mine lease area to 75 sq km in Jharkhand and 50 sq