The government on Monday said it has granted licence to ArcelorMittal for prospecting iron ore in Karampada region of Jharkhand, a move which will giv

The government on Monday said it has granted licence to ArcelorMittal for prospecting iron ore in Karampada region of Jharkhand, a move which will give boost to the steel giant's proposed Rs 50,000-crore project in the state. "We have approved one of the recommendations of the Jharkhand government to grant prospecting licence to ArcelorMittal over 662.9 hectares of land in Karampada region," mines minister B K Handique said. Jharkhand had sent two recommendations for allotment of prospecting licence to the world's largest steelmaker in the West Singhbhum district on December 31, 2009. "Out of which, we have sent back one proposal for the grant of prospecting licence over 416.93 hectare to the Jharkhand government for some clarifications and approved the another," the minister added. A prospecting licence is approved by the Centre in favour of a mining entity on the recommendation of the respective state government where the mines are located. After getting prospecting licence, in the case of iron ore, within three years, the company has to apply for the mining licence. The area for which the prospecting licence has been granted to the ArcelorMittal is estimated to house about 200 million tonnes of rich iron ore.