Uncertainty looms over hard rock mining 

Uncertainty looms over continuation of production at the country's lone hard rock mining company in Dinajpur as the authorities have cancelled a tender nearly 16 months after floating it to appoint a mine developer.

The mine operating company, Maddhapara Granite Mining Company Limited (MGMCL), in a notice  said the invitation for international tenders was cancelled due to some unavoidable circumstances. 

This is the second tender – to appoint a new mine developer after the previous one's contract expires – the authorities cancelled consecutively in the last two years. 

If a new mine developer is not appointed in due time, production at the Maddhapara granite mine in Dinajpur will be halted again, also leading to a damage of mining machinery, said sources at the MGMCL. 

Senior Secretary to the Energy and Mineral Resources Division Md Anisur Rahman said the tender was cancelled as it was hanging for a long time, which is not acceptable. 

"Bidders wanted to submit the schedules after visiting the mine, but they could not do that due to the pandemic situation. Therefore, the MGMCL board decided to cancel the tender," he said. 

Asked how the mine's production will continue, he said "We have not thought that yet, but we will find a way out." 

Abu Daud Mohammad Fariduzzaman, managing director of the MGMCL, could not be reached for comments regarding the matter. 

Germania Trest Consortium (GTC), a consortium of Belarusian Trest Shakhtospetssroy and Germania Corporation Limited, produced rocks at the mine from 2014 to February 2020 under a six-year contract. 

The GTC was appointed at a cost of Tk1,400 crore to extract 9.2 million tonnes of granite, but it could produce only 3.75 million tonnes by the time its contract expired in 2020.

As the developer failed to produce expected amount of rocks and its contract was approaching its expiry date, the MGMCL authority floated a tender in October 2019 to appoint a new developer.  

However, the authority halted the tender process to bring some corrections to update the tender document, said sources at the MGMCL. 

Meanwhile, the MGMCL signed a Side Letter Agreement (SLA) with the GTC for another year to continue producing granite before appointing a new developer.   This agreement will be over by July this year.

Later, the MGMCL floated the second tender on 26 February, 2020 for the management of operation, development, maintenance and related works to produce 8.85 million tonnes stones by developing 15 units of new stopes (an excavation in a mine or quarry) in six years.   

In the last 16 months, a total of 16 schedules were sold for the tender, but the authority again cancelled it three days before the date of opening the bid documents on 20 June, 2021. 

Sources at the Energy and Mineral Resources Division said the authority is planning to keep the existing developer without following an open tender process. 

However, Senior Secretary Md Anisur Rahman said they will not appoint any contractor without following an open tender process.