Winning the highest bid in mineral e-auctions is a major achievement for Rajasthan, fulfilling government’s agenda of highlighting the state as top mining destination in India.
Rajasthan houses premier deposits of limestone at national level. Given the large-scale availability of resources and well-developed infrastructure, power supply, transport and communication systems, there’s a huge potential for investment and trading in limestone-based industries, as evidenced by the results of electronic auction for minerals that started in the month of July this year. As per records, Rajasthan government successfully conducted e-auction of India’s largest limestone block this Thursday, subsequently winning the highest bid for the same. Seeing the slow growth in mining sector over last two years, state government has decided to auction the mineral resources to promote Rajasthan’s stratum among other mining destinations in India.
Rajasthan’s Mineral Multeity
While copper and iron are strategic for Rajasthan, limestone and manganese are essential resources here. Iron and manganese deposits, being smaller in size (as compared to other states) are not economically attractive resources, but mining and beneficiation increases their commodity prices in international markets. Rajasthan leads the production and export of Wollastonite and Marble (limestone) in India. Limestone mines in Rajasthan, including the Jaislamer unit and Gotan unit, has the total capacity of 1990 million tonnes.
The auctioned limestone block was strategically chosen, based on important factors like size, industry requirements, land ownership patterns etc. It came from Jayal tehsil in Nagaur, which has over 168 million tons of high-grade limestone reserves. It witnessed aggressive bidding by three renowned cement companies of the state, namely Emami Cements, Mangalam Cements and JSW Cement. The winning bid of 60.09% by Emami Cements sealed its faith, beating Chhattisgarh’s previous record of 58.95%.
Government Planned This Auction to Promote Rajasthan as Top Destination for Mining
Rajasthan government announced the sale of tender document for auctions in July. Reserve price for purchase was set as 7% and the bidding took place in two rounds. Initial bid was opened on 16th September whereas the final auction was set at 16.9% on 22nd September. Three largest bidders competed in live e-auction of the block, where Emami Cements- the final winners placed the highest bid, which is 8 times the reserve price of limestone block. Now the process of securing statutory clearances has been initiated, in line with Indian Government’s regulations.
Mineral Auctions Have Consolidated Rajasthan’s Hold in the Industry
Pushpendra Singh Ranawat, retired professor in geology and earth scientist, appreciates government’s efforts saying Rajasthan is the first state to hold an open auction for mineral resources at national level.
Mrs. Aparna Arora, Secretary of Mines welcomes this step. According to her, this auction will result in a revenue of at least Rs. 6,000 crorers, thus creating hundreds of jobs in the mineral sector. Rajasthan is the leading producer of calcite, gypsum, quarts, lead, zinc and cement. Future auctions will further strengthen state economy by attracting more investors in the state..
The government is committed to boosting the potential of marble industry in Rajasthan. The authorities have already auctioned a copper block from Ajmer district and there are 2 manganese blocks, iron ore blocks and limestone blocks reserved for future bidding. They’re investing in top-notch exploration capabilities and creating better avenues for expansion in the state. This shall provide more opportunities for new players in the near future.
