KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) - Optimism triggered by the lifting of a ban on iron-ore mining in the western Indian province of Goa last month, seems to be fast dissipating with the threat of such bans looming large once again in other parts of the country.

For one, a fresh ban on iron-ore mining looms over the eastern province of Odisha with the Supreme Court expected to deliver a verdict on illegal mining in the region.

Simultaneously, in the southern Indian province of Karnataka, only 23 of the total 115 iron-ore mines were back in production exactly a year after the Indian apex court lifted a ban in the province, subject to an annual cap in production and stipulated environmental and rehabilitation norms.

The Supreme Court, hearing cases of illegal mining across the country, has maintained that in the case of Odisha, automatic renewal of mining leases, after the first renewal period of 20 years, was illegal. Miners were currently awaiting further verdict.

With the possibility of the court slapping a ban on mining, the sword of Damocles hanging over miners was how many of the mines in Odisha would come under the threat of the ban, even if the court did not order a blanket prohibition on mining.

Though definitive figures were not available from the mining industry, several miners said that 22-million tonnes a year of iron-ore could be knocked off national production figures if mines operating under automatic renewal of lease were to be banned from operating by the court.

The court had also questioned the notice issued by the provincial government demanding payment of $11-billion from mines operating without a valid renewal licence. The court maintained that mere payment of the fine or backlog royalty did not make the extracted resource legal.

Odisha was the largest iron-ore-producing province in the country, accounting for around 45% of the country's total annual production.

In the southern province of Karnataka, with just a handful of mines back in operation, ore production was estimated at around 20-million tonnes a year at the current level of operation, against local demand of 36-million tonnes a year. At the peak of mining activities, mines in the province produced around 50-million tonnes a year.

The Supreme Court had put in place an annual cap of 30-million tonnes at the time the ban was lifted last year.

At peak level, in 2009/10, the three provinces of Goa, Karnataka and Odisha delivered 75%, or 218-million tonnes, of total ore produced. The combined production of the three provinces slumped 50% to about 85-million tonnes in 2012/13.