Exploration and Production of Atomic Minerals by Private Companies
Reconnaissance Permit (RP), Prospecting License (PL), and Mining Lease (ML) leading to the production of some atomic minerals (minerals listed in Part B First Schedule of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957) especially in the beach sand environment was permitted by the Government as per the details of beach sand policy 1998 and related notifications under Atomic Energy Act, 1962. The recently issued Atomic Mineral Concession Rules, 2016 provides scope for such activities in areas below certain defined threshold values.
The details of both atomic (Ilmenite, Rutile, Zircon, Monazite) and associated non-atomic (Garnet, Sillimanite) minerals are furnished below:
| State | Total Heavy Mineral | Ilmenite | Rutile | Zircon | Monazite | Garnet | Sillimanite |
| Odisha | 209.18 | 96.44 | 4.47 | 3.25 | 2.41 | 50.87 | 51.74 |
| Andhra
Pradesh |
327.25 | 163.05 | 10.25 | 11.94 | 3.72 | 66.00 | 72.29 |
| Tamil Nadu | 284.06 | 179.02 | 8.00 | 10.20 | 2.46 | 46.97 | 37.41 |
| Kerala | 231.10 | 145.70 | 8.41 | 7.83 | 1.90 | 4.46 | 62.80 |
| Maharashtra | 3.75 | 3.74 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.002 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Gujarat | 2.83 | 2.77 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.003 | 0.03 | 0.00 |
| West Bengal | 5.50 | 2.05 | 0.19 | 0.39 | 1.22 | 0.00 | 1.65 |
| Bihar | 1.12 | 0.73 | 0.01 | 0.08 | 0.22 | 0.00 | 0.08 |
| Total | 1064.79 | 593.50 | 31.35 | 33.71 | 11.93 | 168.33 | 225.97 |
Where the exploration reports indicates occurrence of atomic minerals less than threshold value, State Governments would grant mineral concession as per the provisions of section 10B and 11 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957, which prescribes a method of auction through competitive bidding. This will ensure competition and transparency in award of mineral concessions and also reduce reliance on imports.
This information was provided by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
