The Indian government is considering a proposal to charge a lower royalty rate for low-grade iron ore produced by local steel producers if they carry out enrichment, government sources said on Monday, November 24.
Sources said the government is working on a proposal to charge 5% of the average selling price as royalties if low-grade iron ore with less than 58% Fe content is enriched to 62% Fe. Currently, there is only one royalty rate of 15 percent of the average selling price.
This lower royalty rate charged for ore processing was recommended by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Steel and Coal, which argued that such an incentive would not only preserve limited high-quality ore, but also make optimal use of available waste, thereby reducing the burden of storing tailings and waste left for disposal, the sources said.
