Sindh Cabinet moves to regulate mining sector

KARACHI: The Sindh Cabinet has passed the “Sindh Mines and Minerals Governance Act 2021”, which would be presented before the provincial assembly for promulgation, a government official said on Tuesday.

“After the 18th Amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan, Sindh took the initiative to prepare Sindh Mines and Minerals Governance Act 2021 to properly regulate the mining sector in Sindh and to provide a detailed law for effective mining in the province,” Sindh Minister for Mines and Minerals Mir Shabbir Ali Bijarani said, while talking to newsmen.

Bijarani said that to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for labour, “Sindh Metalliferous Mines Act 2021” had also been approved by the Sindh Cabinet and would soon be placed before the Sindh Assembly for promulgation.

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The Mines and Minerals Development Department has been working on the “Sindh Granite Mining Policy” with the consensus of all the stakeholders, ensuring the protection of historical sites, the minister said, adding: “Thar is blessed with natural resources and contain minerals like granite, China clay, iron ore, fuller earth, etc.

About 26 billion tonnes of estimated granite reserves are available in Karonjhar Range in Thar. The policy regarding mining in Karonjhar would soon be finalised.”

The environmental mapping of mining areas of Sindh for conservation of minerals and natural resources, an Annual Development Plan (ADP), with the total cost of Rs39.8 million was planned to modernise the department through digital mapping of mining sites and computerisation of the records of mining permits and leases.

Sindh would be the first province in the country to conduct study of all the minerals available in the province and create a detailed profile of precious, semi-precious and other minerals of economic importance, the minister said, adding that this study would determine the quality, quantity and location of available minerals.

“The profile study of identified minerals for reserve estimation in Sindh is an ADP scheme with the cost of Rs240 million.”
In the next financial year’s ADP, a total of 301 schemes of water supply and drainage would be carried out with an allocation of Rs15.5 billion, he added.

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