Vedanta Limited has won India’s first-ever gold mining lease auctioned by the Chhattisgarh government. The gold mine at Baghmara in Baloda Bazar district, about 140 km north-east of Raipur, is one of the oldest explored deposit of the precious metal in Central India. India imports about 1,000 tonnes of gold every year and the precious metal is the second-highest component of the imports bill after crude oil.

Vedanta quoted the highest bid of 12.55% of the Indian Bureau of Mines price of Rs 74,712 per troy ounce. One troy ounce — a unit denoting the value of the precious metal— is 31.10 gram. The auction is expected to yield Rs 82 crore to the state exchequer in addition to the royalty of Rs 25 crore. An estimated reserve found during the initial prospecting for gold in the region, that spreads over 607 hectares, is 2700 kg.

Chief minister Raman Singh who is also in charge of the mining portfolio said that besides ensuring greater transparency, the e-auction also speedily accomplished the mining lease allocation. The four companies that participated in the auction were Rungta Mines Ltd, Vedanta Limited, Krishna Global Minerals Ltd and Sainik Mining and Allied Services Ltd.

It is the first gold mine auctioned in the country, for grant of composite license (prospecting license-cum-mining lease) since enforcement of new amendment in Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 2015.

Everything You Need to Know About Gold Monetisation Scheme