India Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh today called for a ban on iron ore exports saying that the country must take lessons from neighbouring China and the US for using finite natural resources judiciously.
India has world's fifth largest estimated reserves of iron ore at about 25 billion tonnes, of which only a fraction is minable. During the last fiscal, India produced 218 million tonnes of which more than half was exported.
Contrary to Steel Minister's views, industry body FIMI is opposed to moves aimed at banning iron ore exports saying that the country does not have the capacity and capability to utilise the domestic iron ore fully.
"Iron ore exports should be banned. We must conserve our natural resources. Take example of China, It doesn't touch its reserves and depends on imports. There are other countries too. America does not touch its oil resources; it imports," Singh told PTI.
Concerned over depleting resources he said, "... day by day it is becoming less and less. It is not something which can grow by itself again. If exhausted it is exhausted for ever. Therefore it is a big necessity to conserve it."
Singh said he has already drawn Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's attention to this, and has been raising the issue. Till the ban is effected, the duty should be raised to 20 per cent flat on both the grades of iron ore, he said.
At present, iron ore fines attract 5 per cent export duty while 15 per cent duty is imposed on iron ore lumps.
The 72 million-tonnes domestic industry is likely to expand to 120 million tonnes by December 2012 and would require more iron ore as it grows further, he said.
Asked his counterparts in Mines and Commerce Ministries have a diametrically opposite view on exports, Singh said it were their stance.
"Commerce ministry is just interested in exports," he said, adding that the Mines Ministry too has its own stand on the issue but "our focus should be to use the latest technology and utilise even the low grade ore in steel making."
The Mines Ministry is against any such move to ban iron ore and the Mines Minister BK Handique had said that any such move will result in huge piles of ores causing health and other hazards, rendering thousands jobless as India does not have a technology to make steel from powdery variant.
However, steel minister said that with new technology like Finex, low grade ore could be utilised for steel making.
Earlier the steel ministry had written to the finance ministry too seeking duty hike on iron ore exports.