Mining Industry

Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma on Monday said the state has immense possibilities in mineral resources and about 30 lakh people are getting direct and indirect employment from mining. He said the mining sector also plays an important role in the state's revenue. So the priority of the state government is that the mineral wealth should be properly exploited and revenue in this sector should be increased. He instructed the officials to work by setting targets. He said the department should speed up the mining exploration work and identify new mining areas and make the auction process transparent. Sharma was addressing the review meeting of the Mines and Petroleum Department. He said the mineral resources should be used for the welfare of the public and transparency should be maintained in the entire process. He instructed the officials to form an assessment committee for various activities of the Mines Department and also organise its regular meetings. He also asked them

Staunchly opposing the Centre's award of tungsten mining rights in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cancel it and asserted that the state government will not allow mining there considering aspects such as a bio-diversity heritage site and people's opposition. A notified bio-diversity heritage site falls under one of the areas proposed for mining, and commercial mining in densely populated villages will definitely affect the people, who fear that their livelihood may be lost forever and hence, the state would never allow mining there, Stalin said, writing to Modi. Against the backdrop of protests by the people against proposed mining, Stalin pointed to the 'grim situation in Madurai district due to the Union government's award of tungsten mining rights,' and requested the immediate intervention of PM Modi to cancel it. The state had already raised its concerns on such auctioning of mining rights of critical and ...

Mining major Vedanta Ltd on Friday said the Mumbai bench of the NCLT has asked the company to call for a meeting of its secured and unsecured creditors and shareholders in the next 90 days to discuss the proposed demerger. The proposed demerger will create independent companies housing aluminium, oil and gas, power, steel and ferrous materials, and base metals businesses. The existing zinc and new incubated businesses will remain under Vedanta Ltd. "A meeting of the equity shareholders... be convened and held within 90 days from the date of receipt of the order," said a two-member bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) comprising Technical Member Madhu Sinha and Judicial Member Reeta Kohli in its order dated November 21. Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal had earlier said the proposed demerger of the company's diverse verticals that represent more than 15 commodities will see it progress from being asset managers to asset owners. As the company passes through the transition .

State-owned BEML on Thursday said it has secured an order worth Rs 246.78 crore from Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) for the supply of rear dump trucks which are used in mining operations. As part of the order, BEML said it will supply 48 BH60M rear dump trucks, along with spares, and also provide after-sales service support. "BEML has secured a substantial order worth Rs 246.78 crore from Central Coalfields Limited (CCL)," it said. The trucks have been developed in-house with features like a 360-degree rear camera for comprehensive visibility and improved safety, an automatic fire suppression system for emergency preparedness, and an auto lube system to ensure seamless maintenance, BEML said in a statement. BEML CMD Shantanu Roy said, "This partnership further strengthens our resolve to contribute to India's growth by supporting critical sectors like mining with sustainable and advanced technologies, aligning with the nation's vision of self-reliance and global leadership in industr

Coal India arm NCL is planning a huge rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) project and is working on relocating the residents from the township in Madhya Pradesh's Singrauli, which has 600 million tonnes of mineable coal underneath, company's CMD B Sairam said. Talking to reporters here, Sairam said Morwa township in Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh, is spread across 927 hectares. The project, which is quite huge, will have its own share of challenges as it will involve relocation of the entire Morwa township of Northern Coalfields Ltd (NCL). "The good thing is that in this acquisition, the people are ready to relocate. So half of the problem is solved because the first resistance comes from the people only," the chairman and managing director (CMD) said. Once people are ready, the only thing to decide is the rates of the compensation and the R&R benefits, he said. For the last six months, NCL has been regularly negotiating with the people on rehabilitation and resettlement. "Based .

On July 25, a nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court ruled that states have the power to levy cess on mining and mineral-use activities. Tata Steel's petition seeks a remedy to this order

The latest awards follow a second-round auction held after the initial round failed to attract sufficient interest, as the government mandates at least three technically qualified bids per block

Revised conversion factor would apply to new mining leases granted following the notification

India and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday discussed ways to enhance cooperation in areas of fertilizers, petrochemicals, and mining to boost trade and investments. These sectors were discussed during a meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Saudi Minister for Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef in Riyadh. Goyal is in Riyadh on an official visit. "We further deliberated and explored potential areas for cooperation in the fertilizers, petrochemicals, and mining sectors," Goyal said in a post on a social media platform. Goyal also held bilateral talks with Khalid Al Falih, Minister of Investment, Saudi Arabia. "We engaged in insightful discussions on facilitating investments and explored significant opportunities for collaboration across sectors such as pharmaceuticals, automobiles and petrochemicals," he said. The minister also inaugurated the 'Lulu Wali Diwali' at the Lulu Hypermarket. "From the Apple orchards of Ladakh to the markets o

During the strategic and technical sessions of the conclave, there will be discussions on topics like coal and energy, limestone and cement industry and mineral beneficiation, among others

He said that investigations regarding mining cases against him have been ongoing for 12 years

State-owned Coa India Ltd is exploring options to monetise its four old washeries by leasing out those assets and plans to bundle lease contracts with long-term coal supply agreements. The move aims at optimising asset utilisation. "We are exploring the monetisation of four old washeries," Coal India Ltd (CIL) said in a report. The company which accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output is diversifying its portfolio by setting up a non-coking coal washery at Ib Valley, Lakhanpur in Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) -- one of the subsidiaries of CIL. The public sector enterprise commissioned the operation of Madhuband Washery having 5 million tonnes of annual capacity during 2023-24 to further enhance coking coal beneficiation capacity. The company is also setting up three new washeries in Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) -- another arm of CIL -- with a total throughput capacity of seven million tonnes per annum. Besides, five coking coal washeries with a total capacity of 14

Agro-chemicals firm Coromandel International on Wednesday announced the acquisition of an additional 8.82 per cent equity stake in Senegal-based rock phosphate mining company BMCC through its wholly-owned subsidiary. With this, the company's overall shareholding in Baobab Mining and Chemicals Corporation (BMCC) will increase to 53.8 per cent. "Coromandel will invest USD 3.84 million (Rs 32 core) in BMCC, besides a loan infusion of USD 6.5 million (Rs 54 crore) to fund expansion projects and meet working capital requirements," Coromandel International said in a statement. Rock phosphate is a critical raw material for manufacturing Phosphoric Acid, an intermediate used for Phosphatic fertiliser production. BMCC, incorporated in 2011, has a renewable exploitation permit for processing phosphate ore and Coromandel acquired a 45 per cent stake in September 2022. The company has since stabilised mining operations and is currently commissioning a fixed processing plant to optimise rock ..

The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries (GCCI) has demanded an urgent review of the mineral taxation ruling by the Supreme Court, stating that the increased cost of mining will inevitably lead to higher prices for essential commodities, including steel, power and cement. The Supreme Court last month allowed states to collect past dues on royalty on minerals bearing land from the Centre and mining companies from April 1, 2005 onwards. "The imposition of further taxes/ cess/ levies, if any, as permitted by the ruling, will further impact the economics of mining operations possibly making it unviable with its natural consequences. Additionally, the increased cost of mining will inevitably lead to higher prices for essential commodities e.g., steel, power, cement, etc. further fuelling inflation and consequential impact on the nation's economy," GCCI said in a statement. The possible impact would be a change of goalpost particularly when the auction regime is in vogue post enactment

He encouraged the industry to study the exploration reports of these blocks and bring in interested domestic and international players

The country's coal output grew 5.85 per cent to 411.62 million tonnes (MT) in the current fiscal year (up to September 12), over the year-ago period. This country's coal production was 388.86 MT during the same period last year. "This marks a significant increase... reflecting a commendable growth rate of 5.85 per cent, despite adverse climatic conditions that challenged mining operations," the coal ministry said in a statement. The figures are provisional. The production by state-owned Coal India Ltd rose to 311 MT during the same period, marking a growth of 2.80 per cent compared to 302.53 MT in the corresponding period of the previous year. This growth is even more notable given the interruptions in mining activities in CIL subsidiaries due to heavy rains, it said. Coal dispatch has also experienced a substantial uplift, reaching 442.24 MT during 2024-25 (up to September 12), compared to 421.29 MT in the same period last year, it said, adding that this reflects a robust growth

The Centre has also reportedly roped in the state of Madhya Pradesh as a co-petitioner to review the July 25 judgment in an open court hearing

Vedanta Resources, the parent firm of mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd, on Wednesday raised USD 900 million in its first dollar bond issue in more than two years to prepay existing bonds. In a statement, the firm said it has raised UDS 900 million at a coupon rate of 10.875 per cent in the five-year US dollar-denominated bond. "The net proceeds from the offering of the bonds will be used to repay certain of Vedanta's existing bonds (including any accrued interest thereto) and to pay any related transaction costs in connection thereto," it said. This is the first US dollar bond issued by Vedanta since February 2021. The bond received final orders of USD 1.45 billion from investors across the globe representing an oversubscription of over 1.6 times, reinforcing the confidence of these investors in the Vedanta story, the statement said. "The final allocation of the bonds represented the broad-based support which Vedanta enjoys, including 41 per cent from Asia, 24 per cent from EMEA an

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) which conducted an audit of six iron-ore mines in Odisha has observed that after the auction of the selected mines, there was an "abrupt and abnormal decline in the grade of iron-ore and its classification", as reported by new lessees. "The decline of grade of iron ore has resulted in a revenue implication of approximately Rs 4,162.77 crore for the financial years 2020-21 and 2021-22 in the form of lesser royalty and premium (post auction)", the CAG said in its report No 6 of the year 2024, which was laid before the Odisha Assembly on Wednesday. Though more than 83 per cent production was reported in the grade of 62-65 per cent Fe (iron) in the pre-auction period, the same came down to approximately 16 per cent in the two years after auction (2020-2022), it said. Similarly, the auditor said, the share of grades 60 per cent Fe and below went up from approximately 11 per cent of total production to more than 60 per cent of total ...

State-owned NLC India Ltd is aiming to start the mining of Machhakata coal block in Odisha ahead of schedule. Machhakata coal block is the second commercial coal block and the biggest among the NLCIL's mining projects. NLC India Ltd (NLCIL) had emerged as the successful bidder for Machhakata (Revised) coal block in Angul district of Odisha under the commercial coal block e-auction held in July. The Machhakata coal block, having reserves of 1.4 billion tonnes (BT), with average Grade of G10-G11, and capacity of 30 MTPA, is expected to be one among the top five biggest mines in the country, NLCIL said in a statement. "NLCIL aims to commence the mining ahead of schedule. This marks another milestone towards realising NLCIL's Corporate Plan 2030," the statement added. Machhakata Coal Block's vesting order was issued on Thursday. The company had earlier said that it is committed to its capacity addition in line with its vision of achieving more than 100 million tonnes per annum (MTPA)