India to charge premium for transfer of mining rights

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Indian government has said a company acquiring mining rights from another firm will be charged 80 percent of royalty as premium if the acreage was originally obtained without bidding.

The 80 percent charge will be on top of royalty that the new mining lease holder will pay to the state, the government said in an order on Wednesday.

"When a mine is auctioned an additional premium has to be paid on royalty. This premium has been imposed using the same analogy," Mines Secretary Balvinder Kumar told Reuters.

India last month approved an amendment to the mining law, allowing the transfer of mines rights, mainly aimed at helping companies sell limestone mining licences along with their cement plants.

However, the government had not notified charges to be paid by the acquirer of the mining lease on top of royalty to the state government.

India has auctioned six mines and is likely to put up another 50-60 mines for bidding this year, Kumar said at an industry event.

(Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)