State-owned MOIL Limited signed a tripartite MoU (memorandum of understanding) with the Government(govt) of Madhya Pradesh (MP) and the Madhya Pradesh State Mining Corporation Limited (MPSMCL) to explore the possibilities of manganese ore mining in 4 districts of MP viz, Balaghat, Jabalpur, Jhabua, and Chhindwara.
Background:
i.MOIL has carried out detailed remote sensing studies to identify the manganese-bearing areas with the help of the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) ISRO, Hyderabad. NRSC specified sites for MOIL to explore.
ii.After the detailed study, MOIL has carried out extensive fieldwork, followed by geological mapping, sampling, and their petrological and chemical analysis for delineation of manganese ore-bearing areas.
iii.MOIL has requested the Government of MP for the reservation of area in 4 districts of the state for exploration.
Reservation:
As per the request, under Rule 67 (1) of the Mineral (Other than Atomic and Hydrocarbon Energy) Mineral Concession Rules, 2016, the MP govt has reserved 850 sq km and 487 sq km areas in Balaghat and Chhindwara districts respectively to enable MOIL to take up exploration projects in the reserved areas.
Note – Reservation of area in Jabalpur and Jhabua are in process.
About Manganese ore:
i.Manganese(Mn) is a transition metal, it is used as an important raw material in the iron and steel industry, dry cell batteries, alloy formation, chemical, glass and electrical industries.
ii.MP is the leading manganese ore producing State, accounting for 33 percent of the total production in India, it is followed by Maharashtra (27 percent) and Odisha (16 percent).
Recent Related News:
In accordance with the 2nd edition of NCAER Land Record and Services Index (N-LRSI) 2021, almost 32 States and Union Territories (UTs) have shown an improvement in their effort to digitise land records. Their mean has shown an increase of 16.6% in 2020-21 from 38.7 in 2019-20 to 45.1 in 2020-21 (out of 100 points).
About MOIL Limited:
It is the largest producer of manganese ore in India. It owns and operates 11 mines in Maharashtra and MP.
Establishment – 1896 (as Central Province Prospecting Syndicate), (Renamed as MOIL ltd in FY11)
Headquarters – Nagpur, Maharashtra
Chairman-cum-Managing Director – M.P.Chaudhari
About Madhya Pradesh:
Capital – Bhopal
Chief Minister – Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Governor – Anandiben Patel
