Union minister G Kishan Reddy on Monday said the Centre will soon launch the National Critical Mineral Mission (CMM) to enhance domestic production, reduce import dependence, and encourage offshore mining auctions, while urging states to cooperate for sustained mining activities. Reddy made the remark after inaugurating the 3rd National Mining Ministers' Conference in Konark, in the presence of Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Bihar's deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha, Telangana deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu, and other dignitaries and industry leaders. "The mission will soon get Cabinet approval. Union finance minister had announced about it in her budget speech. Import duty on critical mineral has also been made zero," Reddy said. Lithium, cobalt, copper, nickel and rare earth elements are known as critical minerals which are essential for manufacturing defence equipment and key technologies. Stating that India has already made a place in the global platform on critical ...
The ministry has also notified 28 private exploration agencies to undertake exploration without requiring prospecting licences
The country's iron ore production rose by 3 per cent to 182.6 million tonnes (MT) in the April-November period of the current fiscal. India's iron ore output was 177.2 MT in the year-ago period, according to the provisional data. The mines ministry in a statement said that the country's manganese ore output rose by 9.5 per cent to 2.3 MT in April- November period over 2.1 MT during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. Production of chromite rose to 2 MT over 1.8 MT in the year-ago period. The production of bauxite also rose by 8.9 per cent to 15.9 MT in April- November period over 14.6 MT in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal. "In the non-ferrous metal sector, primary aluminium production in FY 2024-25 (April-November) posted a growth of 1.1 per cent over the corresponding period last year, increasing to 27.91 lakh tonnes (LT) in FY 2024-25 (April-November) from 27.60 LT in FY 2023-24 (April-November)," the mines ministry said. India is the second-larg
According to the Ministry of Mines, no bids were received for four blocks, while the remaining seven blocks attracted fewer than three technically qualified bidders
Construction sand is a crucial component for infrastructure development, used in making concrete, mortar, and other building materials
In August 2023, Parliament amended the Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 2002, instituting an auction-based approach for allocating mineral blocks in offshore areas
The government on Wednesday said that 24 critical and strategic mineral blocks have been sold in four rounds of auction. "Out of 48 blocks put to e-auction, 24 have been successfully auctioned, including four mining lease (ML) and 20 composite license (CL) blocks," the mines ministry said in a statement. The centre has so far completed four tranches of e-auction, it said, adding that a total of 10 blocks have been auctioned in the fourth round. According to the statement, the mines ministry has completed the e-auction of another two mineral blocks under tranche IV. "This is in addition to the announcement on November 7, 2024, regarding the preferred bidders for eight mineral blocks under tranche IV of e-auction by central government, bringing the total number of successful blocks in Tranche IV to ten," it said. In the latest auction, Satguru Mining Pvt Ltd won the bid for Ponchi graphite block in Jharkhand, while Assam Mineral Development Corp Ltd emerged as the preferred bidder f
The government will on Thursday launch the first round of sale of mineral blocks in offshore areas with 13 mines across the Arabian Sea and Andaman Sea set to be auctioned. These mineral blocks consist of a mix of construction sand, lime mud, and polymetallic nodules. These minerals are critical for infrastructure development, high-tech manufacturing and green energy transition. "The Ministry of Mines will be launching the first-ever tranche of auction of mineral blocks in offshore areas of India on 28th November 2024," an official statement said. The move assumes significance as it will lead to foray into the exploration and development of undersea mineral resources within its offshore area. Offshore areas include territorial waters, continental shelf, exclusive economic zone, and other maritime zones of the country. With the global shift towards technologies reliant on high-demand minerals, such as cobalt, nickel, rare earth elements, and polymetallic nodules, India must develop
The mines ministry on Wednesday entered into a pact with the International Energy Agency (IEA) for cooperation in the area of critical minerals. The Cabinet had earlier this month approved the proposal of signing the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between IEA and the mines ministry. The present association would provide India with access to reliable data, analysis, and policy recommendations in the critical mineral sector. The IEA is an international organisation within the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). "This collaboration would enable India to streamline its policies, regulations, and investment strategies in the critical mineral sector, aligning them with global standards and best practices," the mines ministry said in a statement. The agreement would also promote capacity building and knowledge exchange between India and the IEA member states, it said, adding that the collaboration on data collection, modelling, and analysis
The government has conducted several roadshows in the last 15 days in financial capitals like Mumbai, London, Boston and New York to assess the market and meet investors for sale of its stake in Vedanta Group firm Hindustan Zinc Ltd. The government, which owns 29.5 per cent in the company, is the largest minority shareholder in Hindustan Zinc. "The roadshow is about the disinvestment process. So, the government is committed to disinvestment of some of its stake in Hindustan Zinc Ltd and in that to assess the market and meet investors and all that several roadshows have happened in the last fifteen days. "They have happened in Bombay, Singapore, Hongkong, London, Boston, New York. So in all the majors financial capitals the roadshows have happened," Mines Secretary V L Kantha Rao said on the sidelines of a training-cum-workshop on the UNESCO Global Geoparks and Geoparks in India. The government had earlier said that it is committed to offloading its stake in Hindustan Zinc through
The focus of this initiative is to help find ways to develop extraction technology and better methods of beneficiation
The scheme allows optional participation for EL holders granted licences through auction after the scheme's introduction
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
More than two dozen blocks will also be put on the bidding block in fourth blocks
A Mines Ministry delegation is scheduled for Zambia in June. India is exploring joint exploration with Zambia for critical minerals, including lithium. A separate delegation will head to Congo
Ministry will lead a delegation to Zambia in June and later to Congo to explore joint ventures in critical minerals
India will become the leader in offshore mining as not many countries have done much in this area, a government official said on Tuesday. Offshore mining is the process of retrieving mineral deposits from the deep seabed, at a depth of more than 200 metres. Speaking at the Critical Minerals Summit here, Joint Secretary in Ministry of Mines, Veena Kumari D said the government has amended the offshore mining legislation. "We have done amendment to the Act for offshore mining and we are working on the rules for that and India will be the leader in offshore mining because not many countries have done much of offshore mining and we were working on it since August 2023," she added. Mines Secretary V L Kantha Rao in his address on Monday had said that the auction of offshore mines will begin in three months' time. The Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 2002 has been amended to provide an auction route for awarding production leases for offshore minerals. "Currentl
Offshore mineral auction within three months
To implement the strategy, Mines Secretary Anandi recently met the director, Bhagwati Prasad Kalal, and all field officers of the mines and geology department virtually
The government has outlined timelines for various activities involved in the process, accompanied by penalties for delays attributable to the bidder