Page 2 - Minerals

Breaking the minerals monopoly

India can draw inspiration from Indonesia's success in nickel to lead globally in critical minerals

Mining majors give a miss to country's maiden critical minerals auction

This is not the first time the Centre has cancelled an auction due to limited interest from bidders; in the first tranche, the ministry had to cancel 14 of the 20 blocks put up for auctioning

India-US working on to deepen collaboration in mining, critical minerals

Joint research by geological agencies, MoU on critical minerals, and tech exchange on the cards

South Korea's Prez Yoon heads to Central Asia for talks on energy, minerals

Yoon will visit Turkmenistan with the first lady for a state visit before heading to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

Dependency on minerals import risks India's green tech progress: ICRA

According to the report, there has been a gradual shift in global energy policy priorities from fuel and energy security to mineral security

India's mineral production increases by 8% in February, says govt

India's mineral output rose 8 per cent in February as compared to the year-ago period, the government said on Thursday. The index of mineral production of the mining and quarrying sector for February 2024 at 139.6 is 8 per cent than February last year. The cumulative growth for the April-February period of 2023-24 over the corresponding period of the previous year is 8.2 per cent, as per the provisional statistics of Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), the mines ministry said in a statement. In February, the production of coal was 966 lakh tonnes, lignite 42 lakh tonnes, natural gas (utilised) 2,886 million cubic metre, petroleum (crude) 23 lakh tonne, among others, it said. The minerals that showed positive growth include gold, copper conc, bauxite, chromite, phosphorite, limestone and coal. "Other important minerals showing negative growth include iron ore and lead conc," the statement added.

Ministry of Mines to hold two-day summit on critical minerals from Monday

The government will hold a two-day summit on critical minerals beginning Monday to foster collaboration, share knowledge and drive innovation in the field of critical mineral beneficiation and processing. The Ministry of Mines, in collaboration with the Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (Shakti), Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), and Indian Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD), will hold "Critical Minerals Summit: Enhancing Beneficiation and Processing Capabilities" from April 29 to 30th, 2024 here. The summit will bring together a diverse array of Indian and international stakeholders, including industry leaders, startups, government officials, scientists, academics, and policy experts, the mines ministry said in a statement. Participants will engage in active dialogue and interactive workshops focused on critical issues such as mineral auction progress, policy incentives for CRM ecosystem development, and the advancement of commercially viable and ...

Looking at setting targets on offshore mineral mining: Mines secretary

"In Africa, we are exploring opportunities in Zambia, Namibia, Congo, Ghana, and Mozambique for critical minerals," the secretary said, adding that they are engaging with Australia for lithium blocks

SC reserves its verdict on whether royalty payable on minerals is tax

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on the hugely contentious issue of whether the royalty payable on minerals is a tax under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, and if only the Centre is vested with the power to levy such exaction or states also have the authority to impose levies on mineral bearing land in their territory. A nine-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud heard the matter on eight days, while dealing with a batch of 86 appeals filed by different state governments, mining companies and public sector undertakings. The bench, also comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Abhay S Oka, BV Nagarathna, JB Pardiwala, Manoj Misra, Ujjal Bhuyan, Satish Chandra Sharma and Augustine George Masih, heard the arguments of various parties including the Centre. During the hearing, the top court had said the Constitution vests the power to impose tax on mineral rights not in Parliament alone but also the states and underlined that such .

Sebi warns Vedanta for publishing 'unlisted ultimate holding' firm's info

Mining major Vedanta on Thursday said it has received an administrative warning from markets regulator Sebi for "publishing information related to its unlisted ultimate holding company". Vedanta received a letter from NSE on March 6, 2023, annexing a letter dated February 29, 2024, issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), according to a regulatory filing. The company has been directed to place the said letter before its board and take necessary corrective steps to strengthen the internal control for corporate announcements/ press releases, it said without divulging any further information. On the details of the violations alleged to be committed, the company said the letter is "in respect of it publishing information related to its unlisted ultimate holding company". New Delhi-based Vedanta Ltd is a diversified natural resources company with interests in oil and gas, aluminium, copper, zinc, lead, silver, iron ore and steel.

Shift in copper market dynamics: Changing fortune of two companies

As one incumbent struggles legally, a new entrant is planning to ramp up capacity, according to schedule

Cabinet approves royalty rates for mining of 12 critical minerals

This completes the exercise of the rationalisation of royalty rates for all 24 critical and strategic minerals

Vedanta, Jindal Power, Ola joins first tranche of critical minerals auction

Mining major Vedanta, Jindal Power and state-owned NLC India are among the players which participated in the first tranche of the auction of critical minerals, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Thursday. A total of 56 bids were received for 20 critical and strategic blocks put on auction in the first tranche launched in November 2023, the minister told reporters after the lunch of the second tranche of the auction of critical and strategic minerals. Around 180 enquiries came from interested parties and 56 bids have been received from companies like Vedanta, NLC, Shree Cement, Dalmia, and Jindal Power, he said. The list includes a number of EV players also like Ola Electric, he said. In the first tranche, 20 mineral blocks including lithium were put on auction. Of these 16 have been put up for grant of composite licence and four for grant of mining lease.

Govt amends to MMDR Act for royalty on 12 critical, strategic minerals

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the amendment in the MMDR Act to specify the royalty rate on 12 critical and strategic minerals, an official statement said. A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of Mines said in a statement. "The Union Cabinet... approved the amendment of Second Schedule to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act) for specifying rate of royalty in respect of 12 critical and strategic minerals," the statement said. The 12 critical and strategic minerals are beryllium, cadmium, cobalt, gallium, indium, rhenium, selenium, tantalum, tellurium, titanium, tungsten, and vanadium, it said. This completes the exercise of the rationalisation of royalty rates for all 24 critical and strategic minerals, the Ministry said. The government notified the royalty rate of four critical minerals, namely glauconite, potash, molybdenum and platinum group of miner

Offshore mineral blocks' auction process to begin in 2-3 months: Secy

The government will begin the auction process for offshore mineral blocks in the next two-three months, Mines Secretary V L Kantha Rao said on Thursday. "...Ministry of Mines will start the auction process in next 2-3 months for these offshore blocks," he said. The government already has 35 offshore mineral blocks identified by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) for auction, Rao said, adding that 24 more blocks are in the pipeline which will be given to the mines ministry for sale, an official statement said. "As the process of auctioning of offshore blocks for exploration and exploitation is a new domain, for this initiative to succeed in a meaningful way, Mines Ministry is working on the Amendments in the Offshore Areas Mineral (Development & Regulation) Act, 2002," he said. Moreover, the Centre is also in the process of developing a standard operating procedures to be followed if a private sector bidder wins the block for exploration, Rao said. The secretary was speaking at a

Mongolia's India-assisted refinery on track for 2026 launch: Ambassador

Mongolia's ambassador to India Dambajav Ganbold has said the India-funded greenfield oil refinery project in South Gobi is on track and will be operational by 2026. However, he acknowledged some delays from the Indian side in delivering products for the refinery plant. "Of course, there are some delays from the Indian side in delivering the products, but overall, the project is progressing well," he told PTI. "It is crucial for our relations, and we eagerly look forward to its completion." With a USD 1.2 billion line of credit announced by India during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Mongolia in 2015, the refinery's construction has been delayed by 1.5 years due to COVID-19. "The work on the refinery project is going well. Because of COVID, it has been delayed by one and a half years. We believe that it will be operational by 2026," Ganbold said. The refinery aims to reduce Mongolia's reliance on Russian oil imports. Upon completion, it will have a capacity of 30,000 barre

Interim Budget: Critical minerals supply chain security takes prominence

In her Budget speech, the Finance Minister's emphasis on critical minerals signals a government commitment to achieving self-reliance in the supply of minerals crucial for cutting-edge technology

Pentagon plans AI-based program to estimate prices for critical minerals

The program, which received little attention after it was announced on a Pentagon website in October, is part of Washington's broader efforts to jumpstart U.S. production of critical minerals

Centre asks GSI, others to increase pace of mineral blocks exploration

The government on Monday asked the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and other agencies to speed up exploration of mineral blocks. Speaking at the 63rd Central Geological Programming Board (CGPB) meeting, Mines Secretary V L Kantha Rao urged state governments to be more aggressive in the implementation of exploration projects through the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) funding. The GSI and other exploration agencies should increase the pace of exploration of critical minerals, Rao said. He further urged stakeholders to make use of geoscience data available in the National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR) portal for a smooth exploration process, the mines ministry said in a statement. The GSI has formulated about 1,055 scientific programmes for 2024-25, including 392 mineral development projects that have the potential to generate auctionable mineral blocks, in the near future.

State-owned KABIL signs $24 mn lithium exploration deal in Argentina

The deal, signed with an Argentinian state-run enterprise, gives KABIL exploration and developmental rights for commercial production