LICENCES TO MULTI-NATIONAL COMPANIES
Under section 5(1)
of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957,
only an Indian national or a company registered in India can be
granted a reconnaissance permit or prospecting licence for exploration
of minerals. Under the existing scheme of the mining legislation,
a foreign company is not allowed to undertake reconnaissance/prospecting
operations.
However,
on the
recommendations of the State
Government of Andhra Pradesh, approvals have
been given
by the Central government under Section 5(1) of the above Act
for grant of 29 Reconnaissance Permits in respect
minerals like gold, diamond, copper, lead, zinc, silver, nickel,
tungsten, antimony, bismuth, arsenic, cobalt, molybdenum and platinum
to 6 private Indian companies, many of which are the subsidiaries
formed by multi-national companies.
Tapping
the
minerals depends on
techno-economic viability
of the deposits, if established on the basis of reconnaissance
operations and subsequent prospecting. The above was stated by
MOS for Coal and Mines, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad in a written
reply today in the Lok Sabha
