Section 7 in Minerals (Other than Atomic and Hydro Carbons Energy Minerals) Concession Rules, 2016
7. Rights of a holder of a prospecting licence to obtain a mining lease.
(1)The holder of a prospecting licence granted (i) prior to January 12, 2015, or (ii) pursuant to rule 5 may, upon fulfilment of the conditions specified in sub-clause (i) to sub-clause (iv) of clause (b) of sub-section (2) of section 10A, make an application to the State Government for grant of a mining lease in the format specified in Schedule VI, within a period of three months after the expiry of the prospecting licence, or within such further period not exceeding six months as may be extended by the State Government.(2)The State Government shall send an acknowledgement of receipt of the application submitted under sub-rule (1) to the applicant in Schedule II, within a period of three days of receipt of the application:Provided that the holder of prospecting licence who has made an application within the time limits specified in sub-clause (iv) of clause (b) of sub-section (2) of section 10A to the State Government for grant of a mining lease before commencement of these rules shall not be required to submit a fresh application subject to the payment of fee specified in sub-rule (3).(3)Application for grant of mining lease under sub-rule (1) shall be accompanied by a non-refundable fee of rupees five lacs per square kilometre on a pro rata basis of the area over which the mining lease is applied for.(4)Pursuant to sub-clause (iv) of clause (b) of sub-section (2) of section 10A, an existing prospecting licence holder may request for an extension of time for submission of the application referred under sub-rule (1) by submitting an application in writing to the State Government in the format specified in Schedule III. The State Government shall accept or reject such request within a period of thirty days from the date of receipt thereof.(5)The State Government shall have the right to seek any additional information, document or clarification from such applicant with respect to the application under sub-rule (1).(6)The State Government shall, on being satisfied that the conditions specified in sub-clause (i) to sub-clause (iv) of clause (b) of sub-section (2) of section 10A have been complied with, within a period of sixty days from the date of receipt of the duly completed application,:(a)communicate through an order its decision to grant the mining lease for any mineral other than those specified in the First Schedule to the Act, or(b)forward the application to the Central Government for its previous approval for grant of a mining lease for any mineral specified in Part C of the First Schedule to the Act.(7)In case of applications received under sub-rule (1) which have not complied with the conditions specified in sub-clause (i) through (iv) of clause (b) of sub-section (2) of section 10A, the State Government may, after giving the applicant an opportunity of being heard and for reasons to be recorded in writing and communicated to the applicant, refuse to grant a mining lease.(8)Where previous approval of the Central Government as required under clause (b) of sub-rule (6) has been sought, the application for such an approval shall be disposed of by the Central Government within a period of one hundred and twenty days from the date of receipt thereof and the decision of the Central Government shall be duly communicated to the State Government.(9)The State Government shall, within a period of sixty days from the date of receipt of the decision of the Central Government as per sub-rule (8), communicate the decision, of the Central Government, to grant or refuse to grant the mining lease, as the case may be, to the applicant through a written order.(10)Upon issuance of an order under clause (a) of sub-rule (6) or sub-rule (9) for grant of a mining lease, the applicant for such mining lease shall:(a)obtain all consent, approval, permit, no-objection as may be required under applicable laws for commencement of mining operations;(b)provide a performance security to the State Government in the form of a bank guarantee as per the format specified in Schedule IV or as a security deposit, for an amount equivalent to 0.50% of the value of estimated resources, which performance security may be invoked by the State Government as per the terms and conditions of Mine Development and Production Agreement and the mining lease deed. The performance security shall be adjusted every five years so that it continues to correspond to 0.50% of the reassessed value of estimated resources;(c)satisfy the conditions with respect to a mining plan specified in clause (b) of sub-section (2) of section 5; and(d)sign an Mine Development and Production Agreement with the State Government as per the format specified by the Central Government after compliance of conditions specified in clause (a), (b) and (c) of this sub-rule.(11)The State Government shall execute a mining lease deed with the applicant in the format specified in Schedule VII within ninety days of fulfilment of the conditions specified in sub-rule (10), and if no such deed is executed within the said period due to any default on the part of the applicant, the State Government may revoke the order granting the lease and in that event the fee paid under sub-rule (3) shall be forfeited to the State Government.(12)The State Government may, for reasons to be recorded in writing and communicated to the applicant, reduce the area applied for at the time of grant of the mining lease.(13)The mining lease executed under sub-rule (11) shall be registered within a period of thirty days from the date of its execution; and the date of the commencement of the period for which a mining lease is granted shall be the date on which a duly executed mining lease deed is registered.
