Coal news and updates

Gold in plenty and coal for everyone. This, in a few words, is the promise being made by Raman Singh, chief minister of the state of Chhattisgarh, in central India, to the local people and above all the mining companies and investors attracted to this verdant region abounding with forests, streams, rivers and hills rich in minerals: iron, bauxite, limestone, tin, dolomite, gold…

Mainly rural and populated with tribes and low castes to the tune of over 50 per cent, Chhattisgarh is one of the poorest states in India.

In an interview recently given to Business Standard, Raman Singh nonetheless boasts of his “pro-poor” policy and over 7 per cent growth in regional GDP for 2015-2016. He hopes to focus on gold exploration and extraction, to create jobs and revive the jewellery and goldsmithing trades.

The announcement accompanied Vedanta Resources’ winning bid, in February, at the auction for India’s biggest gold mine, 140 km from Raipur, the state’s capital.

India currently imports around 1000 tonnes of gold a year, making it a major import sector. This auctioning of a gold mine, a national first, is in line with the government’s desire to monetise and bring the precious metal back into circulation, to contain its import. Gold in India, amounting to almost 20,000 tonnes according to government estimates, is mainly stored in private homes or in temples.

The announcement resonated like a shiny promise for the Chhattisgarh region and its mining communities. This state in central India, already known for coal mining, could diversify into gold mining.

Non-governmental organisations, such as the public interest research and advocacy organisation, the Centre for Science and Environment, are somewhat sceptical.

Source: Equaltimes