Indian Minerals

Yearbook 2011
(Part- I)

50th Edition

STATUS OF RECONNAISSANCE
PERMITS, PROSPECTING LICENCES
AND MINING LEASES IN INDIA

(ADVANCE RELEASE)

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF MINES
INDIAN BUREAU OF MINES

Indira Bhavan, Civil Lines,

NAGPUR 440 102

PHONE/FAX NO. +91712 - 2565471

PBX : +91712 - 2562649, 2560544, 2560648
E-MAIL : cme@ibm.gov.in
Website: www.ibm.gov.in

October 2012
 STATUS OF RECONNAISSANCE PERMITS, PROSPECTING LICENCES AND MINING LEASES IN INDIA

3 Status of Reconnaissance Permits, Prospecting

Licences and Mining Leases in India
INTRODUCTION for preliminary prospecting of a mineral through regional,

U nder the Mines & Minerals (Development &

Regulation) Act, 1957 and Mineral Concession
aerial, geophysical or geochemical surveys and geological
mapping, but does not include pitting, trenching, drilling
Rules, 1960, the State Governments accord grant/
(except drilling boreholes on a grid specified from time to
renewal of reconnaissance permits, prospecting licences
time by the Central Government) or subsurface excavation.
and mining leases. Also, the State Governments are
required to submit a copy of every permit/licence/lease The provision of Reconnaissance Permits (RP)
granted/renewed to the Controller General, IBM, under was introduced in 1999 under the Mines & Minerals
Rule 57 (1) of Mineral Concession Rules, 1960.
(Development & Regulation) Act,1957 and in 2000
Additionally, the State Governments also have to submit
under the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 and
a consolidated Annual Return of all reconnaissance
Mineral Conservation & Development Rules,1988
permits, prospecting licences and mining leases granted
or renewed to the Controller General, IBM, in a made under the Act.

prescribed format under Rule 57 (2) of Mineral
Concession Rules, 1960 not later than 30th day of June
of each year, for the previous financial year.
RECONNAISSANCE PERMITS
Reconnaissance Permit is a permit granted for
During 2010-11, the Government has approved/
granted 30 Reconnaissance Permits covering a total area
of 35,913.72 sq km. Out of these, the maximum number of
RPs were in Madhya Pradesh (16), Karnataka (7),
Rajasthan (3) and Chhattisgarh & Uttar Pradesh

the purpose of undertaking reconnaissance (2 each ). The details of the RPs approved / granted during
operations which means any operation undertaken 2010-11 are given in Table - 1.

Table-1: Reconnaissance Permits Approved / Granted during 2010-11

State Mineral No. Area (sq km)

India 30 35913.72
Chhattisgarh Diamond, Gold & Associated minerals 2 3435.00

Karnataka Gold 1 46.00

Diamond, Gold & Associated minerals 6 7146.12

Madhya Pradesh Diamond, Gold, Iron ore, Manganese ore, 3 6192.00

Diamond, Gold, Copper, Lead Zinc & 13 11981.73
Associated minerals

Rajasthan Diamond, Gold, Copper Lead, Zinc 3 4456.12

& Associated minerals

Uttar Pradesh Diamond, Gold & Associated minerals 2 2656.75

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 STATUS OF RECONNAISSANCE PERMITS, PROSPECTING LICENCES AND MINING LEASES IN INDIA

PROSPECTING LICENCES
Under the Mines & Minerals (Development &
Regulation) Act, 1957, "Prospecting Licence"
(PL) means a licence granted for the purpose of
undertaking prospecting operations with a view to
exploring, locating or proving mineral deposits. The
State Governments and Union Territories are
empowered to grant/renew/revoke Prospecting Licence
(PL) under provisions of Mineral Concession Rules,
1960.
As per information received from the
State Governments/Union Territories, 131 prospecting
licences were granted covering an area of 35,682 ha
during 2010-11 as compared with 81 prospecting
licences covering 21,386 ha area during 2009-10.
The states where prospecting licences were
granted during 2010-11 include Madhya Pradesh (66),
Maharashtra (14), Uttarakhand (13), Rajasthan (11),
Jharkhand (10), Andhra Pradesh (9), Chhattisgarh (5),
Gujarat (2), Tamil Nadu (1). Areawise, Madhya Pradesh
covered 25,637 hectares, Andhra Pradesh 3,364
hectares, Maharashtra 3,282 hectares and Jharkhand
2,587 hectares. The remaining area of 812 hectares was
accounted for by rest of the states. The statewise
distribution of prospecting licences granted during
2008-09 to 2010-11 is given in Table-2.
Mineralwise, in 2010-11, prospecting licences
granted were for limestone (27), manganese ore (18),
iron ore (14), soapstone/ steatite (10) , silica sand (6)
and dolomite (5). Thirty nine PLs were granted in respect
of group of minerals. Limestone accounted for an area
of 17,778 hectares out of the total area of 35,682 hectares
covered by the Prospecting Licences granted during
2010-11 followed by iron ore (3,803 ha) and manganese
ore (3,308 ha). Group of minerals covered an area of
10,381 hectares. The mineralwise distribution of
prospecting licences granted during 2008-09 to
2010-11 is given in Table-3.

Table 2 : Prospecting Licences Granted, 2008-09 to 2010-11

(By States)

2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

State
No. Area (ha) No. Area (ha) No. Area (ha)

India 21 1623 81 21386 131 35682

Andhra Pradesh 6 140 9 4854 9 3364

Arunachal Pradesh - - 2 42 - -

Chhattisgarh - - 1 5 5 71

Gujarat - - - - 2 25

Jharkhand - - - - 10 2587

Karnataka 2 728 - - - -

Madhya Pradesh 11 710 50 11182 66 25637

Maharashtra - - 5 2802 14 3282

Rajasthan 2 45 12 2499 11 652

Tamil Nadu - - 2 2 1 2

Uttarakhand - - - - 13 62

Area figures rounded off.

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 STATUS OF RECONNAISSANCE PERMITS, PROSPECTING LICENCES AND MINING LEASES IN INDIA

Table 3 : Prospecting Licences Granted, 2008-09 to 2010-11

(By Minerals)

2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

Mineral
No. Area (ha) No. Area (ha) No. Area (ha)

India 21 1623 81 21386 131 35682

Barytes 1 3 - - 1 4
Calcite 1 25 - - - -
Dolomite 1 9 3 10 5 23
Garnet (abrasive) - - 1 26 - -
Gold 2 728 - - - -
Iron ore 1 22 6 460 14 3803
Jaspar - - 1 185 - -
Laterite - - 11 2392 4 75
Limestone 2 482 17 11159 27 17778
Magnesite - - - - 2 9
Manganese ore 7 210 16 3156 18 3308
Mica - - 1 30 1 4
Moon Stone - - 1 1 - -
Pyrophyllite - - 1 5 - -
Quartz 1 9 - - - -
Quartzite - - - - 1 4
Red ochre - - 1 5 2 14
Soapstone/steatite - - - - 10 49
Shale - - 1 18 - -
Silica sand 2 40 - - 6 225
White Clay - - - - 1 5
Group of minerals 3 95 21 3939 39 10381

Area figures rounded off.

MINING LEASES leading with 2,696 leases followed by Andhra Pradesh

Section 3 (c) of the Mines & Minerals (Development
& Regulation) Act 1957 defines Mining Lease (ML) as
a lease granted for the purpose of undertaking mining
operations and includes a sub-lease granted for such
purpose. The Act defines mining operations as any
operation undertaken for the purpose of winning any
mineral.
The status of mining leases as on 31.3.2011 indicates
that 11,003 mining leases were in force in the country in
23 states covering an area of 547,814 ha for 65 metallic and
non-metallic minerals excluding lignite, coal, petroleum,
natural gas, atomic minerals and minor minerals.
During 2010-11, the statewise break up of
leases as reflected in Table-4 indicates Rajasthan was
(1,999), Gujarat (1,152), Madhya Pradesh (1,100), Tamil
Nadu (945), Karnataka (754), Odisha (532), Goa (336),
Jharkhand (332), Chhattisgarh (316), and Maharashtra
(251). These eleven states together accounted for about
95% of the total mining leases in force.
Of the total mining lease area covered by different
States, Rajasthan accounted for 20% followed by Odisha
(14%), Andhra Pradesh (12%),Karnataka (11%), Tamil
Nadu & Jharkhand (7% each), Madhya Pradesh (6%),
Gujarat (5%), Goa & Chhattisgarh (4% each ) and
Maharashtra (3%). These eleven states accounted for
about 93% of the total mining lease area granted and the
remaining 7% was accounted for by the rest of the twelve
states.

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 STATUS OF RECONNAISSANCE PERMITS, PROSPECTING LICENCES AND MINING LEASES IN INDIA

Scheduled minerals are those listed in the First
Schedule to the MM(DR) Act, 1957. There are 10
minerals under Scheduled Minerals for which mining
leases were in existence as on 31.3.2011. The number
of existing mining leases are 1,596, i.e., 14% of the total
mining leases accounting for an area of 1,87,016.82
hectares which is 34% of the total mining area in the
country. Out of the ten scheduled minerals, the total
number of mining leases for iron ore is placed at 800
followed by bauxite (343), manganese ore (340),
chromite (35 ), asbestos (34), copper ore (17), lead and
zinc ores (12), gold (11) , diamond (2) ruby and sapphire
(1 each).
During 2010-11, mining leases in force were in both
Private and Public sectors including Central and State
Government Undertakings. Out of the total 11,003
mining leases in force in the country, 10,467 (95%)
mining leases with an area of 3,64,181.14 ha (67%) are
in the Private Sector and the remaining 536 (5%) leases
are in the Public Sector extending over an area of
1,83,633.17 ha (33% of the total mining lease area).
Most of the scheduled minerals, namely copper ore,
lead & zinc ores, gold, iron ore, manganese ore,
chromite, asbestos and non-scheduled minerals like
limestone, dolomite, pyrite, fluorite, apatite, barytes,
kyanite & magnesite, etc. are being exploited by both
Public and Private Sectors.
In the metallic minerals, ferrous group of minerals
include iron ore, manganese ore, chromite, while non-
ferrous group of minerals comprises bauxite, copper-
lead-zinc, molybdenum, nickel, tin and the noble metals
include gold, silver and platinum group of metals. There
were no mining leases for molybdenum, nickel, silver
and platinum group of metals in the country. In
2010-11 for 8 metallic minerals, existing mining leases
were 1,573 (14%) covering an area of 1,84,751.66 ha
(34%). On the other hand, existing leases for non-
metallic minerals/industrial minerals were 9,430 (86%)
covering an area of 3,63,062.65 ha (66%).
The statewise summary of mining leases during
2008-09 to 2010-11 is given in Table-4. The mineral-
wise summary of existing mining leases as on 31.3.2011
is given in Table-5. Sectorwise distribution of mining
leases as on 31.3.2011 is given in Table-6.

Table - 4 : Existing Mining Leases, 2008-09 to 2010-11

( By States )
2008-09 2009-10 2010-2011
State
No. Area No. Area No. Area
(ha) (ha) (ha)

India 9415 491445.64 10488 507403.84 11003 547814.31

Andhra Pradesh 1578 54470.79 1948 71072.74 1999 68047.13

Assam 8 929.50 8 929.50 8 929.50
Bihar 10 2030.16 11 2074.72 11 2074.72
Chhattisgarh 312 17650.66 314 20143.54 316 23551.77
Goa 422 31457.43 337 24445.88 336 24393.26
Gujarat 1228 27962.54 1125 30817.62 1152 30035.65
Himachal Pradesh 54 2027.18 54 2665.09 54 3440.41
Haryana 108 11471.52 110 11638.53 118 12255.12
Jammu & Kashmir 55 1814.75 57 2671.84 57 2671.84
Jharkhand 323 36974.67 330 37059.58 332 37071.32
Karnataka 693 57398.26 615 46784.85 754 59204.59
Kerala 109 3042.12 85 2943.33 82 2878.62
Manipur 2 610.17 2 610.17 2 610.17
Meghalaya 19 1433.97 22 1448.53 21 1297.63
Madhya Pradesh 948 28442.41 963 28524.20 1100 30930.93
Maharashtra 280 17703.21 254 16312.35 251 16093.72
Odisha 387 67212.90 528 76356.67 532 77743.91
Rajasthan 2167 105607.10 2587 106479.18 2696 107102.01
Sikkim 3 96.30 3 96.32 3 96.32
Tamil Nadu 482 6652.01 925 11180.67 945 37780.11
Uttar Pradesh 88 9290.11 88 9290.11 95 7608.54
Uttarakhand 69 3077.78 69 3077.78 89 1276.76
West Bengal 70 4090.10 53 780.64 50 720.28

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 STATUS OF RECONNAISSANCE PERMITS, PROSPECTING LICENCES AND MINING LEASES IN INDIA

Table - 5 : Existing Mining Leases as on Table - 5 (Concld.)

31.3.2011
Mineral No. of Lease area
(By Minerals) Leases (ha)

Mineral No. of Lease area Iron ore 800 98082.70

Leases (ha)
Jasper 5 211.70

India 11003 547814.31 Kyanite 32 3217.74

Agate 3 59.62 Laterite 186 2293.10

Amethyst 6 74.42 Lead & Zinc ore 12 7175.19

Apatite 2 20.17 Lime kankar 19 648.17

Asbestos 34 1632.75 Limeshell 35 4879.47

Ball clay 54 28281.41 Limestone 2073 153926.94

Barytes 164 2587.75 Magnesite 40 3015.53

Bauxite 343 30032.74 Manganese ore 340 23258.72

Borax 1 159.00 Marl 8 1729.08

Calcareous sand 14 151.54 Mica 311 7511.74

Calcite 80 1620.02 Moulding sand 62 1380.64

Chalk 162 650.75 Ochre 158 3405.40

China clay 514 17386.17 Perlite 1 144.88

Chromite 35 9432.57 Phosphorite 12 2750.76

Clay (Others) 106 1280.61 Pyrites 1 647.50

Copper ore 17 10007.01 Pyrophyllite 97 2259.98

Corundum 17 240.62 Pyroxenite 10 90.84

Diamond 2 275.96 Quartz 1892 16696.91

Diaspore 12 94.38 Quartzite 88 2016.35

Dolomite 542 8124.63 Ruby 1 4.07

Dunite 1 14.28 Sand (Others) 57 13547.01

Epidote 1 5.00 Sapphire 1 673.40

Felsite 6 102.29 Shale 46 570.11

Felspar 862 11653.41 Silica sand 545 17797.48

Fireclay 272 6507.87 Sillimanite 6 2847.06

Fluorite 16 1670.71 Slate 18 683.31

Garnet 96 938.88 Steatite 474 16609.18

Garnet (Gem) 1 12.08 Tin 15 321.02

Gold 11 6441.71 Vermiculite 16 285.94

Graphite 121 3787.65 White clay 24 212.16

Gypsum 89 15255.15 White shale 16 74.90

Iolite 11 104.35 Wollastonite 7 239.86

(Contd.)

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 STATUS OF RECONNAISSANCE PERMITS, PROSPECTING LICENCES AND MINING LEASES IN INDIA

Table - 6 : Existing Mining Leases as on 31.3.2011

(By Sectors)

Sector No. of % Area %

leases (ha)

India 11003 100 547814.31 100

Public 536 5 183633.17 33

Central Government
Undertakings 197 2 110246.53 20
State Government
Undertakings 339 3 73386.64 13

Private 10467 95 364181.14 67

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