London-listed Vedanta Resources Inc bagged a gold mine in Chhattisgarh that was put up for auction by the state government.
The company quoted the highest price to get the Baghmara (Sonakhan)
gold mine, which became country’s first mine carrying the yellow metal
to be auctioned. The company would be granted the composite licence that
includes both prospecting licence and cum-mining lease.
“Vedanta Resources Inc quoted the highest bid of 12.55% of the IBM
price at Rs 74,712 per troy ounce (1 troy ounce = 31.10 gram) to win the
gold mine,” Subodh Kumar Singh, secretary mines, told Business
Standard. The auction would fetch Rs 80 crore to the state exchequer in
addition to existing royalty, he added.
The Baghmara mine is spread across an area of 608 hectares in a densely
forested pocket of the Balodabazar-Bhatapara district — about 130 km
northeast of Raipur. Based on the exploration and available reports, the
mine has an estimate reserve of 2,700 kg of gold metal. The bidding
went on for nearly 13 hours Friday and concluded late in the night. Over
160 bids were submitted.
Singh said the attractive policies of the state government had resulted
in large participation in the bid. The mine is the oldest explored gold
deposit in Central India and has long been held as having a commercial
potential, he said, adding that the development of the Baghmara gold
mine will contribute towards India’s target to reduce gold import
besides promoting gold, gems and jewelry business in the state.
Vedanta Resources, a global diversified metals and mining company, has
added gold in its mineral portfolio by bagging the mine. The group
produces oil, zinc, aluminium, copper, lead and silver. The company is
also eyeing at the gold mines put for auction in the neighbouring
Jharkhand state.
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