Billionaire Anil Agarwal-led mining firm Vedanta Ltd today said it is hopeful of restarting iron ore mining in Goa from October.
"We have resumed mining in Karnataka in February and we've been granted an interim capacity of 5.5 million tonne of saleable ore in Goa and mining is expected to recommence after the monsoons, hopefully from October, after getting the required approvals," company chairman Naveen Agarwal told shareholders at the 50th annual general meeting here.
He said that the company will resume mining even though the global iron ore price are on free-fall.
The iron ore industry in the state has been closed since 2012 after a Supreme Court order. The ban was lifted in 2014 but operations are yet to resume.
Agarwal also told the shareholders that the company will be shifting its registered office from Goa to Mumbai.
"As a global resource company we are now in the process of shifting the registered office to Mumbai. This is a natural shift of location as the company has a large shareholder base of over 3.5 lakh based out of Mumbai," Agarwal added.
He said the shifting of its base to Mumbai will have no impact on Vedanta's association with the coastal state.
"As an organisation we have strong moorings in Goa and a close community connect with the presence of our Sesa Goa iron ore business. This warm relationship will continue as before and this shift will have no impact on our long-standing association and presence in the state," he said.
Agarwal thanked the government for reducing the export duty on low grade iron ore (which is the mainstay of Goan mines) and the enactment of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015.
"These steps will provide continuity to our mining leases and will bring transparency to future auction processes for mineral concessions," he said.
