AP govt to take part in offshore mining auction: Minister Kollu

Minister for Excise and Mines has revealed that the AP  government is interested in participating in the offshore mining auction and urged the Union government for its cooperation to set up a seabed mining corporation. He also emphasized the need to safeguard natural resources and correctly utilise them by the government.
Minister Kollu Ravindra participated in the 6th Governing body meeting of  ‘The National Mineral Exploration Trust, in New Delhi for which Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, Dr.Jitendra Singh, Satishchandra Dube attended on Monday.
Addressing the conference, Minister Kollu Ravindra said that Andhra Pradesh has an abundance of natural resources and diverse mineral resources. “If they are utilized in the right way, the state will stand as a guide for the development of the country. Andhra Pradesh has valuable resources like vanadium, titanium, nickel, phosphorite, phosphate, graphite, lithium and platinum,” the Minister highlighted.
Stating that Andhra Pradesh has a coastal area of about 972 km, the Minister sought the Center’s help to contribute to the exploration of resources in the marine area. Polymetallic nodules, polymetallic sulphides and other resources will also become available in AP seashore mining. Ravindra appealed to Union Minister Kishan Reddy to consider relaxing some rules on the offshoring mine auctioning.
The National Mineral Exploration Trust was established in 1996 to technologically utilize the resources in the state, he said adding that 2% is pegged as a seigniorage fee for mining of minerals which is used for state mineral exploration. It has been decided to set up a special system for comprehensive surveillance of the mining activities in AP, Minister Ravindra observed, stating that the cooperation of Union Mines department secretary Kanta Rao has been sought in this regard.
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