Lok Sabha Question No. 4786 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-30
Subject: Investment in Mining Sector
Ministry: MINES
Asked by: T. RADHAKRISHNAN, KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH, BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO, VIJAY KUMAR S.R., GAJANAN CHANDRAKANT KIRTIKAR, SUDHEER GUPTA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4786 TO BE ANSWERED ON 30 TH  MARCH, 2017

## INVESTMENT IN MINING SECTOR

## 4786 . SHRI T. RADHAKRISHNAN, KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH, SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO, SHRI S.R. VIJAYAKUMAR, SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR, SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA

Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  India  moved  down  during  the  previous  year  on  the  overall  mining  investment attractiveness index as per international survey,  2016;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor along with the reaction of the Government thereto;
- (c) the details of the investment made in mining sector during each of the last three years;
- (d) the  percentage  of  mining  carried  out  by  the  public  sector  undertakings  and  the  private companies  in  the  said  sector  along  with  their  mineral  production  during  the  said  period, sector-wise; and
- (e) the  corrective measures  taken/  being  taken  by  the  Government  to  boost  the investment  in mining sector?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR POWER, COAL, NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY AND MINES (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a) to (c):  Yes Madam. According to the annual survey for mining and exploration companies conducted by the Fraser Institute (a Canadian public policy think tank) in 2016, India has been ranked poorly on the Investment Attractiveness Index, Policy Perception Index etc. The report by Fraser Institute is under examination by the Government.

The mining sector has been liberalized since the year 1993 and it is dominated by large number of private sector miners. Under the liberalized economic environment, investment decisions are taken by the entrepreneurs based on their techno-economic feasibility, commercial considerations as also considerations of economic viability.

The details of investment made by the Public Sector Undertakings under the Ministry of Mines viz. Hindustan Copper Limited and National Aluminium Company Limited during the last three years are given as Annexure-I.

(d) to (e): There are a total of 3874 mines (minerals coming under the purview of the Mineral Conservation  and  Development  Rules,  2017)  in  the  country  as  on  16.03.2017,  wherein  1684 mines are working. Out of these working mines, 1552 mines are in the Private Sector. The details of sector-wise (Public & Private) production of minerals (excluding coal, atomic, fuel and minor minerals) for the year 2013-14 to 2015-16 are given as Annexure-II.

To promote the investment in mining sector, FDI up to 100% is allowed in exploration, mining, minerals processing and metallurgy under the automatic route for all non-fuel and non-atomic minerals including diamonds and precious stones. Further,   the Government has amended the Mines  and  Minerals  (Development  and  Regulation)  (MMDR)  Act,  1957  through  the  MMDR Amendment  Act,  2015  which  inter-alia  provides  following  provisions  to  boost  the  mineral sector:

- (i) grant of mineral concessions through auction by competitive bidding;
- (ii) transition provisions for extension of existing leases to obviate disruptions in supply of ore and to ensure regular supply of raw material to the industry;
- (iii) allowing  easy  transferability  of  mineral  concessions  granted  through  auction,  which would facilitate investments into the mining sector; and
- (iv) establishment of National Mineral Exploration Trust for regional and detailed exploration;
- (v) period of mining lease upto 50 years to give certainty of tenure.

## Annexure mentioned in reply to Lok Sabha unstarred question no. 4786 for 30.03.2017 regarding investment in mining sector

Annexure-I Details of investment made by HCL and NALCO during the last three years

(Rs. in crore)

| Name of the Organisation           |   2013-14 |   2014-15 |   2015-16 |
|------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Hindustan Copper Ltd               |   2617.17 |     250.9 |    256.99 |
| National Aluminium Company Limited |    523    |     282   |    452    |

Annexure-II Mineral Production (excluding coal, atomic, fuel and minor minerals) during the last three years

|                   |        | Public Sector   | Public Sector   | Public Sector   | Private Sector   | Private Sector   | Private Sector   |
|-------------------|--------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|------------------|------------------|------------------|
| Mineral           | Unit   | 2013-14         | 2014-15         | 2015-16(P)      | 2013-14          | 2014-15          | 2015-16(P)       |
| Metallic Minerals |        |                 |                 |                 |                  |                  |                  |
| Bauxite           | Tonne  | 6690534         | 6355919         | 6617939         | 15628614         | 16137752         | 21515577         |
| Chromite          | Tonne  | 692221          | 795250          | 1076524         | 2186099          | 1368913          | 1817473          |
| Copper Conc.      | Tonne  | 139307          | 107604          | 142649          | -                | -                | -                |
| Copper Ore        | Tonne  | 3777772         | 3505348         | 3907823         | -                | -                | -                |
| Gold (Total)      | Kg     | 1556            | 1430            | 1310            | 8                | 11               | 13               |
| Gold Ore          | Tonne  | 412877          | 443279          | 530754          | 7552             | 3999             | 4153             |
| Iron Ore (Total)  | '000 t | 58690           | 59463           | 60638           | 93493            | 69858            | 95272            |
| Lead& Zinc        | Tonne  | -               | -               | -               | 9281807          | 9362659          | 10453037         |

| Ore               |        |         |         |         |         |         |         |
|-------------------|--------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|
| Manganese Ore     | Tonne  | 1148511 | 1170533 | 1082793 | 1477780 | 1198948 | 1064836 |
| Silver            | Kg     | 154     | 139     | 122     | 349620  | 327508  | 426321  |
| Tin Conc.         | Kg     | 33275   | 23001   | 9268    | 1587    | 1684    | 4273    |
| Zinc              |        |         |         |         |         |         |         |
| Conc.             | Tonne  | -       | -       | -       | 1490662 | 1489374 | 1473812 |
| Non-Metallic      |        |         |         |         |         |         |         |
| Minerals          |        |         |         |         |         |         |         |
| Apatite           | Tonne  | -       | -       | -       | 1300    | 930     | 150     |
| Asbestos          | Tonne  | -       | -       | -       | 172     | -       | -       |
| Diamond           | Carat  | 37517   | 36107   | 36070   | -       | -       | -       |
| Flourite Graded   | Tonne  | 2487    | 2946    | 2333    | -       | -       | -       |
| Flint Stone       | Tonne  | -       | -       | -       | 459     | 244     | 253     |
| Garnet (Abrasive) | Tonne  | 25269   | 22394   | 25460   | 458290  | 69000   | 56334   |
| Graphite R.O.M.   | Tonne  | 87995   | 71706   | 90275   | 58395   | 45006   | 44293   |
| Kyanite           | Tonne  | 142     | -       | 201     | 3537    | 6255    | 2700    |
| Limeshell         | Tonne  | 8390    | 3263    | 0       | 10360   | 13090   | 10029   |
| Limestone         | '000 t | 11635   | 11885   | 11194   | 269228  | 281388  | 292621  |
| Magnesite         | Tonne  | 121609  | 164642  | 147361  | 75331   | 120367  | 117661  |
| Marl              | Tonne  | -       | -       | -       | 3254486 | 2179488 | 2389706 |
| Moulding Sand     | Tonne  | -       | -       | -       | 29963   | 6383    | 25852   |
| Phosphorite       | Tonne  | 1273586 | 1465638 | 1417192 | 179994  | 141577  | 56530   |
| Sillimanite       | Tonne  | 16914   | 26275   | 18514   | 50351   | 39998   | 51933   |
| Selenite          | Tonne  | 531     | 207     | 3103    | -       | -       | -       |
| Sulphur           | Tonne  | 390325  | 429258  | 441153  | -       | -       | -       |
| Vermiculite       | Tonne  | 2201    | 2222    | 989     | 9650    | 17114   | 22278   |
| Wollastonite      | Tonne  | -       | -       | -       | 192712  | 186524  | 175348  |

Source: Indian Bureau of Mines                                                                                                  (P): Provisional

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