Digging deeper: Govt expects production of critical minerals in 4 years

Aims to expedite processes to hasten clearances, auction

The Centre, which will soon commence India’s maiden critical minerals’ auction, is hopeful of production from these mines in four years.

The government is looking at means to expedite critical mineral mining and targeting to start the production phase by the end of financial year 2028 (FY28), officials said.

This would give India an edge over the importer countries as the mining process for critical minerals usually takes close to a decade.

“The aim is to expedite the mining process and reach the production phase within four years,” VL Kantha Rao, secretary, ministry of mines, told Business Standard.