The Mining Bill 2012 was presented today to the members of National Legislative Assembly for the second reading.
The chairperson of the Committee of Energy, Mining and Industry Henry Dilah Odwar presented the report on the bill.He requested MPs to treat the bill as an urgent law and pass it to the third and final reading immediately.
Speaker James Wani Igga gave the green line.
MPs noted during the debate that quarrying, gravel production and sand collection are also important mining activities that should be included in the Bill.
Mr Dilah asked the House to pass the Bill to its third reading for further scrutiny.
Mr Dilah said the House should discuss small scale exploration leases and small scale mining leases during the third reading.
He added that the Committee of Energy, Mining and Industry organized a workshop on the Mining Bill 2012 and it was suggested that small scale mining should be under the jurisdiction of the states while large scale exploration leases should be under the national government.