the goan I network
PANAJI
Chairman of Fomento Group, Auduth Timblo has emphasised on the importance of a good legislation for sustainable mining in the State. Timblo was one of the key speakers at a panel discussion at the Vibrant Goa Summit at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee stadium, Bambolim.
Timblo said, “If we make the legislation good, we will be able to win minerals for the betterment of the society. Good laws are very important and Goa had a very fine law of mineral code, which is more than 75 years old. That mineral code gave birth to the State’s mining.”
He further said that mining in Goa is the result of systems, which were put into place world over to encourage trade of minerals and avoid conflicts.
“During the Second World War and before, certain nations were greedy to gain the control of minerals. For example: Germany went to Poland and even to Sweden in the search of minerals. Similarly, Japan went as far as Myanmar in the same search. That stopped after systems were introduced post the Second World War and trade began,” Timblo continued.
He highlighted that good laws resulted in Goa’s mining touching around 50% of overall mining in India in the 1950s even though the State’s mineral resources were a tiny fraction of the country’s resources.
Timblo further said that 60,000 families in the mining belt of Goa are going to be brought into poverty due to closure of mining, which is a massive social cost.
He continued, “If you consider the environment and social impact, it will tell you that mining ought not to have been stopped; on the contrary, it should have been encouraged, which is what happened in the 1950s. Goa got built because mining got encouraged.”
Nasser Al Maqbali from Minerals Development Oman was another speaker during the panel discussion. In his address, he said that mining started in Oman over 5,000 years ago and historically copper mining used to happen in his country.
He said, “Oman has exploited only 3% of its mineral resources so far. It is also strategically located to the markets. For example: Oman is just 1,200 kms away from India.”
