Indian Government proposes 2-stage bidding process under Mines Bill

The Centre today proposed a two-stage bidding process to the states for auctioning major minerals like bauxite ore, with the highest revenue share offered in the first round becoming the base price for e-auction.

In the first round, technically qualified bidders will be asked to quote the percentage of revenue they will share with the state government.

"The highest initial offer submitted by a technically qualified bidder shall be the floor price for the second round of electronic auction," according to the draft rules for auction of major mineral bearing mines released today.

While the state government will be authorised to conduct the auction, the Union government has sought comments of the stakeholders on the draft rules it has framed for the process.

"The last date for receipt of the comments or suggestions is April 23, 2015," it said.

Last month, The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015 was passed by Parliament paving way for auction of major mineral bearing mines.

Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015 empowers the Centre to prescribe terms and conditions and procedures for bidding which include production sharing or royalty payment or a combination of both.

The Mines Ministry has already identified 199 mines which contain minerals like iron ore, bauxite and manganese ore that can be allocated through the auction route. These are located in mineral-rich states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat and Maharashtra.