Iron ore auctions in the country are losing their momentum, dogged by issues ranging from regulatory to environment and threat posed by the outlawed ultras.
Since the enactment of the new Mines and Minerals Development & Regulation (MMDR) Act 2015, only 17 iron ore blocks could be auctioned. The list of auctioned deposits include 12 operative blocks offered for bidding in Karnataka. Auctions in the southern state were done conforming to a Supreme Court order pronounced before the revised MMDR Act was enforced.
The price of acquiring these auctioned assets was deterring, an industry source said, citing that eight of