MINE LAWS IN MINERAL EXCAVATION IN INDIA

PRESENTED BY

VADDE RAMESH &V.SWARUP KUMARDEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY

ANDHRA UNIVERSITYVISAKHAPATNAM-530003vadde.ramesh@gmail.com

INTRODUCTIONThe use of minerals has been instrumental in raising the standard

of living of mankind.

The names of minerals and their products have been used to christen various eras of civilization, such as the stone Age, the bronze age, the Iron age and nuclear age.

Mineral economic is mainly deal with the mineral economic point of view and their consumption to future aspects.

After than they had implemented the laws accordance with the convenience of the people and industrial purpose.

Mineral classificationThe minerals has been classified according to their mode of

occurrence and military point of view. The simply described as

strategic ,critical minerals and essential minerals.

The strategic minerals are those, which are very small quantity or absent in India and for these minerals India may mainly concentrate important

Where the critical minerals are those, which the minerals are available in India, but they are not feasible to extract today they may be extract in the crucial conditions like wars.(now days these minerals are not feasible to extract they may be feasible in future due to improvement in technology in exploration

While describing the essential minerals those which are very essential for the minor applications and industrial aspects(so these minerals are essential minerals and these are ready available in India.

Mineral Grant concessionMinerals have been placed under two categories for grant

concessions.

1 under mineral oil and gas2. remaining others ..which are further subdivided into(major and

minor including coal and atomic mineral).

The grant of concessions for mineral oil and gas falling under the first category is governed by the Oil fields(Regulation and Development)Act, 1948 .

Second category by the mines and minerals(R and D) Act,1957.

Under section 15 of the Act, exclusive power has been vested to the state government for regulating grant of mineral concessions in respect of minor minerals. thus each state government has framed its own minor mineral concession rules. On other hand concessions for oil and natural gas and major minerals are regulated by the petroleum and natural gas rules ,1959 and the mineral concession Rules,1960 respectively framed under the above two acts and are applicable uniformly all over the India.

Minor mineralsthe minerals which are divide for the purpose of law and defined in

section 3(e) of the mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957.

A certain group of mineral of local importance or minerals, which can be developed on small or cottage scale for the benefit of local people have been specifically declared as minor minerals.

The following have been listed as minor minerals –building stones, marble, quartzite and sandstone for the purpose of making buildings, road metal and house hold utensils, stone used for household utensils, boulders, shingle, gravel, chalcedony pebbles used for manufacture of lime used as building material and murrum, brick earth, fuller’s earth, bentonite, road metal, rehmatti, slate and shale used for building material, ordinary clay, ordinary sand used for purposes other than refractory, ceramics, metallurgical, optical and stowing in coal mines, manufacture of silvecrete (cement), sodium silicate, pottery and glass and saltpeter;

the central government may add or delete any mineral from the list of ‘minor minerals’ by notification in official gazette.

Major mineralsMinerals other than those not declared as ‘minor

minerals’ are major minerals. Under the ‘major minerals’, atomic minerals are those

which have been declared as ‘prescribed substances’ under the Atomic energy Act, 1962.

The minerals falling under the prescribed substances are: minerals or ores of uranium, and its compounds including tailings containing uranium; thorium and its compounds and minerals containing thorium including monazite; Zirconium, its compounds and minerals including zircon; beryllium and its minerals including beryl, lithium and its minerals including lepidolite, deuterium and its compounds, neptunium and its compounds, columbite and tantalite, ilmenite, and rutile.

Procedure for obtaining Mineral concession

For any mineral excavation or prospecting any person intending to mining business has to obtain first and certificate of Approval (CA). The CA is obtained by depositing Rs.500 as a fee in the manner prescribed under the M.C.R., 1960, with the respective State Government in whose State the concession is desired to obtained.

The CA issued by one State is valid for the particular State only and for acquiring minerals concession in other State, it is required to be obtained from that State Government as well.. It is Valid for only one year and can be renewed by paying Rs.250 every year. Once a concession is acquired it is not necessary to renew it for the entire tenure of the lease unless a new concession is sought for. The concessions can be acquired in terms of prospecting license or mining lease.

The procedure for obtaining lease for atomic minerals is the same as applicable to other major minerals except that in the case of former, approval of the department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, has also to be obtained and intending lessee is required to be guided by the Atomic Energy Act, 1962,

Period of concessionsThe prospecting license is obtainable for one year in

case of mica and two years for any other mineral. It is renewable for one or more period, each not exceeding the period for which the license was originally granted.

The period for which a mining lease Is granted does not exceed thirty years in case or coal, iron ore or bauxite and 20 years in the case of any other minerals.

The lease can be renewed for equal period after the expiry of original lease.

In case of petroleum and natural gas tenure of license Is four years which may be extended for further two periods of one year each; and for lease it is twenty years unless a shorter period is asked for and may be renewed for one term only not exceeding the original term.

Restrictions on area concessionThere is restriction on the maximum area one can

acquire .maximum area for which a prospecting license or mining lease can be granted or obtained in any one state in respect of any one mineral or group of associated minerals is as under.

(1).A total area covering not more than 25 sq km comprising one or more areas under prospecting license .

(2) A total area covering not more than 10 sq km comparing one or more areas under mining leases .

(3) For petroleum and natural gas, the area applied for license should ordinarily be 3000 sq miles and in case of lease 100 sq miles then the maximum are of lease assigned to one party is 1000 sq miles.

Royalty and Dead RentRoyalty is the payment to the owner of mineral rights for the privilege

granted by him for mining and producing mineral. The owner may be Government or private individual. Amount of royalty is to be deposited every six month or after expiry of a year as directed by the State Government. The rate of royalty has been fixed on tonnage basis for all known recoverable minerals. In case of petroleum the rate of royalty is payable at the rate of Rs.42per metric tons of crude oil produced. In the case of natural gas the rate of royalty is levied at the rate of 10% of this value. The new rates have been introduced w.e.f. 8th September 1976.

Dead rent is the Minimum royalty, which a lessee has to pay to the owner of the property. Dead rent is payable only from the second year of the lease, if the property remain unexploited. No dead rent is charged in the first year of the lease, although royalty becomes payable in the very first year if the deposit has been opened up for mining and some quantities have been produced. In dead rent schedule, increasing rates have been prescribed depending upon the period to prevent lessee indirectly from keeping the area unexploited. For petroleum, dead rent is payable at the rate of Rs.5 per acre or part thereof for the first 50square miles; and Rs.10 per acre or part thereof for area exceeding 50square miles.

Mine legislation’s in IndiaThe laws that are governing the mines in India were broadly under

two categories classification one for the regulation and development and the other for the safety and welfare of miners.

The main objective of the former are effected through two sets of Acts, namely, the Oil fields (Regulation and development) Act,1948 and the mines and minerals (Regulation and development) Act, 1957, and that of latter though the mines Act, 1952, and the rules framed there under.

In India federal system, the mineral rights vest in the state Governments under whose territorial jurisdiction the minerals lie and they individuals, companies, corporations, etc. But for the leases in the offshore areas that is in the territorial sea, an exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf, the right of granting concessions vests in the union government.

Under the constitution, the power of framing rules for regulating the grant of mineral concessions and development of oil fields and mineral oil resources vests in the union government. Also the power to take laws for safety and welfare of the workers in mines and oil fields vests in the union government.

The oil fields (Regulation and Development) Act No.53 of 1948: The act is relates only to regulation and development of petroleum and natural gas. Only one set of rules, namely the petroleum and Natural gas Rules,1959, have been framed under the act, which provide procedure for obtaining concession, rates of royalty and dead rent. A lessee to submit monthly production return

The mains act, 1952 (Act No. 35 of 1952):It is most important piece of legislation regulating welfare, working conditions and safety of workers engaged in mining activities. It came into force on 1st July 1952 repealing the Indian mines Act, 1923. On functional basis, the Act can be divided into two parts, one related with technical directions and other safety and welfare. Power of the central government to make rules on technical directives and that of safety and welfare has been vested in sections 58 and 57 respectively. Under section 58, six rules have been framed, namely:

•The mines Rules ,1955•The Mysore Gold mines Rules,1959•The mines vocational training Rules,1966•The coal mines pithead Bath Rules,1950•The coal mines Rules Rescue Rules 1959•The mines crèche Rules,1963

The Regulations framed under the 57 are three, namely:(1) The Coal Main Regulations, 1957(2) The Metalliferrous Mines Regulation 1961(3) The Oil Mines Regulation, 1983

Acts, rules and regulations are administered by the director General, Mines safety, who has been empowered along with other inspecting officers of the Directorate to inspect mines, and ensure safety, health and welfare of every person employed in a mine. Under the section 24 there is provision to set up a court of enquiry in case of accident. Central government is vested wide powers to constitute mining Boards and Committees to look into any matter connected with the mines or group of mines.

The Mining Leases (Modification of Terms) Rules, 1956:The purpose of framing the rules was to bring all leases granted

prior to 1949 in conformity with the existing Mineral Concession Rules. A necessity of such provision was felt after the integration of the feudal States numbering over 600 and odd with Indian Union with effect from 1st April 1950.in those times leases were granted over large areas for indefinite periods extending up to 999 year to the tenants. In Goa, leases granted during Portuguese regime were on perpetual basis. Also the rate of royalty, dead rent, etc. was variant. Power to modify terms does not apply to natural gas, petroleum, coal or minor minerals.

The mines and minerals (regulation 7 Development) Act, 1957:The Act came into force on 1st June 1958 superseding the MM (R&D) Act of 1948. It is an important act for regulating grant of concessions and conservation of minerals. In this Act provisions of minimum and maximum area under prospecting license and mining lessee have been prescribed. Schedules of specified minerals, royalty and dead rent are appended in this Act.

Minerals Conservation and Development Rules, 1958:As the names implies these rules are framed for the conservation and systematic development of minerals. The rules do not apply to minor minerals, atomic minerals, coal, mineral oil and gas. Under the rules, mine owners are required to submit notices for opening, closing, reopening of mines and for stopping operations; and to submit monthly and annual production data in respect each mine and the explosive consumption returns every quarter to the Indian bureau of Mines in the prescribed Performa appended to the rules.

Mineral concession Rules, 1960:The rules define procedure of obtaining mineral concessions in government as well as private lands, rights and obligations of a license and a lessee. The rules prescribe maximum quantity of ores and minerals recoverable free of royalty. A provision has been made under rule 54 that any person aggrieved by the orders of the State Government can approach the Central Government to redress grievances. The judgment of the Central Government in this respect is taken to be final.

Coal mines Regulation (Acquisition and Development), Act 20, 1957:This act may be called coal bearing areas (acquisition and Development) Act, 1957. It extends to the whole of the India, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The regulations came into force on 24th October 1957. These deal with the working of coal mines and safety of workers. Mine management’s are required to submit monthly and annual returns, notices regarding occurrences of accidents and incidence of diseases, monthly returns relating to quantities of material stowed, notices regarding appointment or termination of services of managers, assistant manager, engineers, surveyors, etc.

The coal mines (Conservation 7 Development) Act, 1974:The Act above which comes into force 26th August, 1974 repeals and repeals the earlier Act that is the Coal Mines (Conservation, Safety and development) Act, 1952. The Coal Board has been abolished and the functions earlier carried out by the Board under the repealed act are now being discharged by the two public sectors undertaking that are Bharat Cocking coal Ltd., and Coal India Ltd.

Metalliferrous Mines Regulation, 1961:These regulations may be called the Metalliferrous Mines Regulations, 1961. They extend to the whole of India except the State Jammu and Kashmir. They shall apply to every mine of whatever description other than a coal or oil mine. This regulation came into force on 11th March 1961. These provisions in this regulation are similar in nature to those in Coal mines Regulation except that these are applicable to Metalliferrous mines.

The Atomic Energy Act No.33 of 1962: This Act may be confined to the Atomic Energy Minerals and it came into force

from the 14th September, 1962 repealing the Atomic energy Act, 1948. The Act provides wide powers to the Central Government for regulating the control of radioactive substance. As per the provisions nobody can mine, sell or use the prescribed substance except with a license from the Central Government. The government may compulsorily acquire the rights to work the prescribed minerals and also have rights to acquire plants, plants, building, railway siding, etc Erving such plants. The mine owners are also required to maintain secrecy about the production and disposal. The information regarding atomic minerals is not disclosed to the public.

The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980:This Act is provided for the conservation of forests and for matters connected with

them. Be it enacted by parliament in the thirty first year of the Republic of India. It extends to whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 25th day of October 1980.

Marine Mineral Resources and Law of the Sea:Oceans are a vast storehouse of the minerals. In the oceans the main minerals like

Oil natural gas and some 13 other minerals are being produced form the near shore marine sources. Sand and gravel, limeshell, and several placer minerals like Illmenite, rutile-sands, tine zircon, monazite and magnetite are recovered through the dredging. Sulfur and salt by solution mining through the boreholes. Barites is excavated by sub-sea quarrying and coal and iron ore by underground mining with entry from the adjacent coastal area..

GRANITE CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT RULES (GCDR), 1999:

The Government of India notified rules for conservation and the systematic development granite in the country on 1st June 1999. The rules are called as “The granite conservation Rules1999”.

The Government shall grant mining lease to any person or agency with an established geological evidence of granite.

The prospecting license shall be granted not to be exceeds two years. The minimum period of granite mining lease granted in 20years but not exceeding 30years. The minimum area to be granted is 1 heater and maximum is 15 hectares.

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