Bill to amend Mines and Mineral Development Act introduced in Lok Sabha

The government on Monday introduced a bill to amend the mines and minerals legislation to enable existing captive mine owners to sell 50% of their annual produce in the open market and pave way for auction of over 500 mines for gold, diamond, platinum, copper, zinc and lead among others to attract big-ticket investments.

The Union Cabinet had last week cleared amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act to allow sale of 50% coal from captive mines, which are allotted prior to the commercial coal mining auctions. Similarly, existing captive non-coal miners are also proposed to sell up to half of their output the market. The move comes in the backdrop of the government’s focus on indigenous production under the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign.