National Mineral Policy 2006 - Department of Mines

operations are undertaken over a fairly large area (as per our Act upto 10,000 squarekilometers per state); after having done reconnaissance, an entrepreneur has to dodetailed prospecting on the ground (area limit 25 square kilometers per state). Theprospecting area helps him to know the correct nature of the deposit, the grade and thesize of the deposit. After detailed prospecting, he applies for the mining lease (arealimit 10 sq. km per State)6. Sections 5, 6, 7 and 8 of MMDR Act govern the grant of RP/PL/ML and provide formaximum area and periods respectively for RP/PL/ML. Section 11 deals withpreferential rights in certain cases. Rule 63(A) of MCR is the omnibus provisiondealing with time-limits for the disposal of RP/PL/ML. It reads as follows:“Rule 63(A): The State Government shall dispose of the application for thegrant of reconnaissance permit, prospecting licence or mining lease in thefollowing period:a) Reconnaissance Permit - within six months from the date of receipt of theapplication for reconnaissance permit under rule 4A.b) Prospecting Licence - within nine months from the date of receipt of theapplication for prospecting licence under rule 10.c) Mining lease - within twelve months from the date of receipt ofapplication for mining lease under rule 22:Provided that the aforesaid periods shall be applicable only if the applicationfor reconnaissance permit, prospecting licence or mining lease, as the casemay be, is complete in all respects;Provided further that the disposal by the State Government in case ofminerals listed in the First Schedule to the Act shall mean eitherrecommendation to the Central Government for grant of the mineralconcession, or refusal to grant the mineral concession by the StateGovernment under rule 5 for reconnaissance permit, rule 12 for prospectinglicence and rule 26 for mining lease, and in all other cases, disposal shallmean either intimation regarding grant of precise area, or refusal to grantthe mineral concession under rule 5 for reconnaissance permit, rule 12 forprospecting licence and rule 26 for mining lease;Provided also that in case the State Government is not able to dispose of theapplication for grant of reconnaissance permit, prospecting licence or mininglease within the period as specified above, the reasons for the delay shall begiven in writing.”7. An entrepreneur has to apply for the grant of Reconnaissance Permit (RP),Prospecting Licence (PL) and Mining Lease (ML) to the State Government as perprocedure laid down in Mineral Concession Rules, 1960. However, if a mineral isspecified in Schedule-1 of the Act and/or if the area is in excess of the area mentionedin para 4 above, the concerned State Government has to take prior approval of the258