Bhubaneswar: The auction of 20 mines would be completed by the end of March 2020 so that revenue generation does not get affected.
Speaking to reporters here Monday, Mines Minister Prafulla Kumar Mallik said the state government has issued a fresh notification for the auction of 20 working mineral blocks last Friday after it cancelled the earlier notification due to some technical problems.
The government issued the notification for auction as the lease period of as many as 24 mines would come to an end by March next. As per the notification, 12 iron ore blocks, two blocks of manganese, and six blocks of Iron ore and manganese would go under the hammer.
The mines minister said supply of raw materials to the industries would continue and none of the industries would face any problem. He said the minerals production from 24 mines that would be closed by the end of the current financial year would continue till their lease expired.
The minerals would be kept in stockyard and would be supplied to the industries till the new owners of mines started production.