Taking note of illegally mined iron ore being shipped by the miners to the lucrative international markets by evading the regulatory system,the mines ministry has asked the shipping ministry to set up a mechanism to check if the royalty has been paid and the mines from which the mineral has been extracted are legal. In a letter,mines secretary Santha Sheela Nair drew the shipping ministrys attention to the mounting reports on exports of illegally mined iron ore from the country. She pointed out that the Central government has been noticing disturbing trends in the increasing incidents of illegal mining,especially in the case of iron ore directly associated with the boom in iron ore prices particularly in the international spot market. Stating that the long-term agreements for exports of iron ore are limited to state-run enterprises such as National Mineral Development Corporation,and illegal trading by them was a remote possibility, she argued that the spot sales of iron ore in the export market were highly unorganised as they involved many medium and small players. This export trade is difficult to monitor and regulate at the mine level,as most often the miners/traders use multiple sale points to evade the regulatory system. In such trading,the likelihood of exporting illegally mined minerals is very high and there is an immediate need for adequate checks at all levels to curb this malpractice, Said Nair. The mines secretary said she was also writing to the chief secretaries of the states to include officials from the local port authorities in the state-level coordination committees for mining. There have been reports that miners/traders have been flouting the transport and royalty norms to transport their iron ore to the ports in connivance with state government officials. The port authorities understandably do not have the powers to verify documents relating to transporting the mineral. So the mines ministry has now asked for a suitable mechanism to detect illegal exports of ore.
