New Mining Law Comes at a Cost for Companies

The existing mining leases for companies like SAIL, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Hindalco and Sesa Sterlite would continue till March 31, 2020, for non-captive usage and March 31, 2030, for captive purposes, which is a positive development. Currently the royalty for iron ore is 15%. A company pays 15% of its value as royalty to the state government and now would pay another 15% to the District Mineral Foundation (DMF). Only once the lease expires either in 2020 or 2030 will the royalty to DMF come down to 1/3rd of the royalty they pay to state governments.