Explorations in the three states have resulted in discovery of 41 kimberlite and 13 lamproite pipes, which are indicative of possible diamond deposits underneath

The country's largest iron ore miner NMDC Ltd and the world's leading diamond producer De Beers have found traces of diamond deposits in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Karnataka, reports PTI.

Surveys are also underway in these states to detect gold deposits, the government has said. It said explorations in the three states had resulted in discovery of 41 kimberlite and 13 lamproite pipes, which are indicative of possible diamond deposits underneath.

Kimberlite and lamproite are solidified volcanic magma and work as elevators to bring diamonds with other minerals to the earth's surface.

"So far, a total of 339 Reconnaissance Permits (RPs) have been issued covering an area of 4,66,556 sq km, out of which aerial surveys have been conducted in 27 RPs," an official statement by the mines ministry said.

It said that kimberlite and lamproite were discovered in Kalahandi, Nawarangpur, Nuapada and Bolangir districts of Orissa and in Kurnool, Prakasam and Anantapur districts in Andhra Pradesh. Explorations by CRA Exploration India in AP indicated discovery of several mineralised zones in Anantapur and Kurnool districts.

In Karnataka, these were discovered in Gulbarga district. The ministry said exploration permits had been given to several companies.
 

Amid the raging water crisis in Mumbai, the Lodha Group claims that it will provide two swimming pools, a clubhouse with a waterfront café and 10 acres of waterscape at its ‘Aqua’ project in the city

The Lodha group is busy advertising its project ‘Lodha Aqua’, a luxurious residential project near Dahisar (a Mumbai suburb). According to an advertisement published in a newspaper, the Lodha group claims that it will provide two swimming pools, a clubhouse with a waterfront café and 10 acres of waterscape in its project. But how will the developer provide water for these facilities, in face of the 30% water cut imposed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) since July 2009?

The ‘Lodha Aqua’ project was launched in 2007. On the first day of the launch, the group claimed that it managed to sell approximately 300 units at Rs5,850 per sq ft for a two bedroom, hall & kitchen (BHK) covering an area of 1,017 sq ft and a three BHK at Rs1,395 per sq ft (for an area of 1,395 sq ft). In December 2009, the group jacked up the price for the project to Rs6,399 per sq ft.

Earlier, the project had three towers—Pacifis, Atlantis and Artica. Now the developer has added one more tower named Antarctica. The project was supposed to have been completed by March 2009, but now according to the draft red herring prospectus filed by the Lodha group in September 2009, the project will be completed by June 2010.  

If the developer has already sold 300 units on the first day of the launch three years back, why is the company spending so much on advertising? The group is busy coming out with full-page advertisements and is booking prime advertising time on various channels to promote the project.

Moneylife contacted a Lodha spokesperson to know how the group was planning to fill the empty swimming pools and jacuzzis with water, but the company declined to comment. According to a few residents of Dahisar, Mira Road and Bhayandar (all Mumbai suburbs), they get water supply once in a day for only four hours. A few buildings in Mumbai are also hiring water tankers because of the shortage. 
 
In Mumbai, the water shortage problem started in 2001. In October 2001, BMC had made it mandatory for new buildings coming up after October 2002 to install rainwater harvesting systems to combat the water shortage.

But Lodha’s project—with all its advertised water bodies—has no water harvesting facility. BMC has also announced that it will not provide connections to new projects that require more than 2 lakh litres per day of water (at an average of 90 litres per person per day). The moot question is, when there is such an acute scarcity of water, how will the Lodha group manage to fill its much-touted swimming pools?
 

CIL has bought mining equipment from foreign companies, including Caterpillar and Atlas Copco, to boost productivity of its Chhattisgarh mines

State-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) has bought mining equipment worth Rs2,000 crore from foreign companies, including Caterpillar and Atlas Copco, to boost productivity of its Chhattisgarh mines.

"We bought this equipment at an investment of Rs2,000 crore from companies like Caterpillar, Bucyrus and Atlas Copco. We have commissioned this sophisticated equipment at our leading mines in Chhattisgarh for improved mining," Coal India chairman Partha S Bhattacharyya told PTI.

The mining equipment was commissioned at Dipka and Gevra coal mines earlier this week, which together produce about 60 million tonnes (MT) of coal.

"These mines will comprise 15% of the production target of our current financial year," he added. CIL has planned to produce 435MT of coal in 2009-10.

The demand-supply gap for coal in the country is estimated at around 70MT for the current fiscal and is forecast to double in the next two years.

The coal major has also lowered its annual production target for 2011-12 to 486MT from the earlier 520MT on account of delays in securing clearances for its expansion projects. "This equipment will help us remove the overburden on the mines, (help us to) penetrate deep and produce more," he added.