Dept. of Mines and Geology issues license to 159 mines for excavation

The Department of Mines and Geology has issued a permit for extraction to 159 mines that were explored at different times. The license is given for extraction in various places in the country.

Although 152 such authorizations were issued before this, seven more permits have been given in this current fiscal year, said Narayan Banskota, the Information Officer at the Department.

Similarly, the Department has provided licenses for the exploration of 522 mines. It had issued 359 such authorizations before this. In the current fiscal year, the Department has issued a license for the exploration of an additional 63 mines.

According to Banskota, licenses have been issued for the exploration of iron, copper, gold, limestone, granite, ruby, and dolomite, among other potential minerals.

Meanwhile, the Department has cancelled the licenses of 107 mines and companies for their failure to carry out work on time.

It has carried out monitoring and inspection of 82 mines in the current fiscal year.

The Department has collected Rs 333 million and 200 thousand as revenue for issuing licenses for mine excavation and exploration over the last eight months of the current fiscal year. It had collected Rs 356 million 633 thousand and 44 as revenue from the issuance of licenses in the same period last fiscal year, Banskota said.