Miners seek export duty withdrawal on bauxite mined in Gujarat, Maharashtra

The Indian mining industry has urged the government to remove export duty on non-plant grade (NPG) bauxite being produced in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra to allow the industry to cope with the unprecedented situation presented by Covid-19 outbreak.

In a representation to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the industry represented by Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) has said that the bauxite deposits occurring In India’s west coast (low in alumina co ntent 38-45 per cent and high in silica content >7 per cent) are technically not suitable an d economically unviable for the Indian refiners/smelters. It has thus reques ted that as export of this mineral is the only alternative, export duty shou ld be removed to enable the mineral to be priced competitively.

Export of bauxite, used by smelters and refiners for production aluminium a ttracts 15 per cent export duty. The duty is irrespective of the quality of t he ore so both high and low grade pres attract the same duty.

“Considering that low-grade bauxite (non-plant grade bauxite) is uns uitable and uneconomical for the consumption of the domestic aluminium indus try and with a view to have optimum utilization of our low-grade mineral res ources, we request that the export duty imposed @ 15 per cent on exports of bauxite m ay kindly be withdrawn completely,” FIMI Secretary General R K Shama said in his letter to the finance minister.

India is endowed with about 3,896 million tonnes of bauxite resources as on 1 st April, 2015 placing it 6th in the global rank by country. All of Indiaa ¿s alumina and aluminum producers have their own captive mines or meet t heir requirement from mines located in eastern and central India, which cont ain plant grade bauxite.

But mines in west coast, particularly in the states of Gujarat and Maharasht ra with low grade bauxite production depend only on exports. China was the p rime market for exports but FIMI has said that export duty has make Indian b auxite uncompetitive and the market has been captured by producers in Indone sia, Malaysia, Guinea.

Indian bauxite exports which peaked to 8.91 million tonnes in the year 2015- 16, had sharply declined to a meagre 0.50 million tonne during the year 2019- 20 (April-January). FIMI has said that Mai. Reason for this decline is expor t duty.

“Since from the last week of May, 2020 there would be high current i n the Arabian Sea due to which it may not be possible to ship the exports consignment of bauxite from ports like Porbandar and Okha, we would be grateful for your early and favourable decision in this regard,” Sharma wrote in his letter.-IANS News