Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: After receiving a lukewarm response to its first e-auction of low-grade iron ore dumps, the Goa government is preparing for a second round, with 26 newly identified dumps set to go under the hammer next month.
The initial auction held in February saw limited participation from mining companies, with only one of the five dumps attracting a successful bid.
On Tuesday, the Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) announced that tender documents for the upcoming auction are now live on the MSTC e-auction portal. Prospective bidders must complete online registration, and each tender document has been priced at Rs 1 lakh.
The fresh set of dumps is distributed across Sanguem, Dharbandora, Sattari/Bicholim, and Bardez talukas. The largest among them is located at Sonus/Cudnem in Sattari/Bicholim, with an estimated reserve of 11.73 million tonnes.
The auction is scheduled to be conducted between June 15 and June 18. The Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) has been graded according to the size of the dumps—starting at Rs 5 lakh for deposits under 1 million tonnes and going up to Rs 35 lakh for those exceeding 5 million tonnes. Bank guarantee requirements follow a similar structure, beginning at Rs 50 lakh and extending up to Rs 3 crore, with an additional Rs 1 crore applicable for higher-volume lots.
During the first phase, Kai International was the sole successful bidder, securing a 14 million tonne dump in Dharbandora by quoting a premium of 22.1 per cent, marginally above the base reserve price of 22 per cent.
Under the existing pricing mechanism, payments to the state are linked to benchmark rates set by the Indian Bureau of Mines. For example, if the benchmark price is Rs 100 per tonne, a bidder matching the reserve price would be required to pay Rs 22 per tonne to the government.
