After Goa’s illegal iron ore mining, is gold mining next?
October 5th, 2011 - 2:42 pm ICT by IANSPanaji, Oct 5 (IANS) Goa’s illegal iron ore mining may have made headlines in recent times, but several prospectors, including Vedanta Resources owned Sesa Goa, over the last two decades, have made a beeline to the state looking for gold.
Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, who is also Goa’s mines minister, Wednesday told the state legislative assembly in a written reply that his department had received 19 applications for prospecting precious materials like gold and platinum in areas spread through Goa.
While 11 applications for prospecting gold, platinum and other precious metals from 1994 to 2011 have been withdrawn by the applicants, the state ministry of mines has kept seven cases in abeyance and has granted a personal hearing in one case.
The companies which had applied for prospecting licences for gold, silver and other precious metals are Geomysore Services (India) Pvt Ltd, Goan Mineral Resources Pvt Ltd, Sarmeta Exploration of Pvt Ltd, Sesa Goa and Adi Gold Mining.
Former Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) national secretary Jitendra Deshprabhu, recently arrested for illegal mining, had also applied for a gold prospecting licence some years ago.
Opposition as well as ruling legislators have alleged a mega illegal mining scam in Goa, allegedly with the involvement of a politician-bureaucrat and unlawful mining lobby nexus.
- Mining firms encroaching on government land: Kamat - Apr 06, 2011
- Goa to frame new mining policy - Jul 30, 2010
- Vedanta Resources mines operated illegally in Goa: minister - Mar 17, 2011
- Rethinking donations from mining firms: BJP - Oct 15, 2011
- 'Fly by night mining operators creating problems' - Nov 17, 2011
- Government pulls up 20 percent mines - Sep 18, 2011
- Vedanta merges units to create India's largest resources firm (Lead) - Feb 26, 2012
- Award for Goa company accused of illegal mining - Mar 18, 2011
- Vedanta to consolidate subsidiaries into single entity - Feb 25, 2012
- Political donations common practice: mining firm Sesa Goa - Oct 14, 2011
- Private firm plans to mine asteroids for rare metals - Apr 25, 2012
- Vedanta-run mine in Goa ordered to stop work - May 17, 2010
- NCP leader arrested for illegal mining - Aug 04, 2011
- Goa to inspect safety of 100 mining operations - Jul 25, 2011
- Two injured as mining bridge collapses - Feb 15, 2012
Tags: abeyance, goan, gold mining, gold platinum, gold prospecting, india pvt ltd, iron ore mining, jitendra, kamat, legislative assembly, national secretary, nationalist congress party, panaji, precious materials, precious metals, prospecting licence, prospectors, sesa goa, state ministry, vedanta resources