India's top court on Monday allowed some iron ore mines to resume operations in the southern state of Karnataka and supply resource-hungry steel mills in the country. However, the move is unlikely to have much impact on global markets as demand for iron ore world-wide is falling and Indian freight costs have risen along with duties, making Indian iron ore exports costlier, experts say.
The Supreme Court accepted arguments of its environmental committee which said 18 mines which had not violated any environmental rules should be allowed to resume operating after being shut for more than a year. But those mines in violation of environmental norms should remain shut, the court said.
"No mining operation under any of the mining leases shall take place" unless environmental conditions are met, the court said. Karnataka is home to some of the country's biggest deposits of iron ore. Last year, a Karnataka corruption ombudsman said some mining houses in the state were involved in a $3.6-billion mining fraud from 2006 and 2010.
Comments
Comments are closed.