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MP govt offers joint venture on diamonds

After a prolonged controversy, the Madhya Pradesh government floated a global offer for the formation of a joint venture company for prospecting, exploitation and marketing of diamonds in the state.

Madhya Pradesh Principal Secretary (mineral resources) S Laxmi Narayanan said that the proposed joint venture company formed with the State Mining Corporation, would undertake the survey, exploration, evaluation and subsequent exploitation and marketing of diamonds in eleven blocks, each measuring around 5000 square kilometres, and located in Raipur, Bastar, Durg, Rajnandgaon, Bilaspur, Raigarh, Sarguja, Sidhi Satna, Panna, and Chhatrapur districts.

He said the offer was open to an Indian national or Indian company, as defined in the Companies Act, 1956, which was free to have foreign collaboration and equity participation in accordance with the prevailing policies, procedures and guidelines of the Union government in this regard.

Besides, the party should have either its own or through promoters, a five-year experience in the field of survey, exploration, and evaluation of diamond deposits, supported by state-of-the-art technology, equipment and laboratory facilities for sorting and assessing the presence of indicator minerals, he added.

Laxmi Narayanan said another precondition for submission of offer was that the party should be agreeable to giving an undertaking to contribute and maintain the level of 11 per cent unsubscribed equity to the State Mining Corporation in the proposed joint venture company. It should also give an undertaking to contribute during mining and marketing of diamonds by the joint venture company, a minimum amount of Rs 20 per carat of the total diamond production towards local area development charge, he said.

The sale of offer document, to commence on October 14, will continue till October 18. The offers, accompanied by a pre-bid security Rs 10 million, could be submitted till 1300 hours IST on November 25 and the offers would be opened at 1500 hours IST on the same day.

UNI