Mines Ministry

First offshore mineral auction kicks off tomorrow; 13 blocks up for bidding

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

Govt completes auction of 24 critical, strategic mineral blocks in 4 rounds

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

Govt to launch 1st round of auction of minerals in offshore areas on Nov 28

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

Mines ministry, IEA sign pact for cooperation in critical mineral sector

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

Govt held several roadshows for stake sale in Hindustan Zinc: Mines secy

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

Centre to offer financial support to boost critical minerals sector growth

The focus of this initiative is to help find ways to develop extraction technology and better methods of beneficiation

Govt offers 50% refund to licence holders for critical mineral exploration

The scheme allows optional participation for EL holders granted licences through auction after the scheme's introduction

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

Maiden critical minerals block results likely to be announced on Monday

More than two dozen blocks will also be put on the bidding block in fourth blocks

Coal India, NMDC, ONGC to scout for critical mineral assets abroad

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

Mines ministry asks Coal India, NMDC to look for lithium mines overseas

Ministry will lead a delegation to Zambia in June and later to Congo to explore joint ventures in critical minerals

India to become leader in offshore mining as govt amends legislation

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

Nearly 20 critical mineral blocks to be put up for sale by June-end

Offshore mineral auction within three months

Rajasthan's mines department plans to increase revenue during FY25

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

Mine bidders to face penalties for delays; Centre proposes timelines

The government has outlined timelines for various activities involved in the process, accompanied by penalties for delays attributable to the bidder

299 mines identified as abandoned, discontinued or closed so far: Govt

The government on Friday said it has identified 299 mines as abandoned, discontinued, or closed so far and Coal India Ltd has taken proactive steps towards the closure of these mines. In addition, an expert committee has been appointed to review the existing mine plan guidelines to strengthen the mine closure framework and to adopt best international practices. "A total of 169 pre-2009 and 130 post-2009 mines, considered abandoned, discontinued, or closed, have been identified. "Of these, 68 pre-2009 mines are marked for final closure, with 63 Final Mine Closure Plans (FMCPs) diligently prepared. Additionally, 14 pre-2009 mines are designated for temporary closure, with comprehensive Temporary Mine Closure Plans (TMCPs) developed for each," the coal ministry said in a statement. Mines closed before 2009 often lacked a structured closure framework, leading to non-scientific closures. Acknowledging the physical hazards and environmental consequences associated with these abandoned .

Mineral output rises 13.1% in Oct, 9.4% growth in Apr-Oct period: Govt

India's mineral production went up 13.1 per cent in October 2023, over the same month a year ago, the government said on Monday. The index of mineral production of the mining and quarrying sector for October was 127.4, 13.1 per cent higher than October 2022, as per the provisional figures of Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM). The cumulative growth for the April-October period of the current fiscal over that of the year-ago period is 9.4 per cent. The minerals that showed positive growth in October included iron ore, manganese ore, gold, and coal. Important minerals showing negative growth included lignite, copper conc, and bauxite.

Mines ministry identifies offshore blocks in economic zone for exploration

The mines ministry on Thursday said it has identified some offshore blocks for granting operational rights and has sought inputs from the departments concerned to ensure there is no overlapping with other projects. In August, the government amended the Offshore Areas Mineral (Development & Regulation) Act (OAMDR) and introduced a transparent and non-discretionary auction process as the method of allocation of operating rights in the offshore areas. "The ministry has identified some blocks in the exclusive economic zone of India... in this regard, the ministry has sought comments/inputs from concerned ministries/department for availability of the offshore blocks for grant of operating rights to avoid any overlapping with the projects," the ministry said in a statement. To implement the provisions of the amended Act, the ministry framed two sets of draft rules -- Offshore Areas Mineral Auction Rules and Offshore Areas Existence of Mineral Resources Rules. The main features of the ...

Chhattisgarh govt tightens norms on utilisation of funds released from DMF

The mineral resources department issued a notification last week for the implementation of the Chhattisgarh District Mineral Foundation Rule-15

GSI data, NGDR to help makers of pumped storage hydro projects: Official

Mines Secretary V L Kantha Rao on Thursday stressed on the role of leading organisations under the mines ministry, including the Geological Survey of India (GSI), to build pumped storage hydro power projects and highways. Addressing a workshop, the secretary made a special mention of the National Institute of Rock Mechanics (NIRM) for their inputs on assessing the quality of stones being used in the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. GSI data and the recently launched National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR) portal will help developers of pumped storage hydro power project, he said. Rao underlined the vast geological, geotechnical data generated by the GSI over its journey of more than 172 years. "Rao called upon GSI to gear up to the demand from the industry and augment its in-house capacity in Mission IV to cater to desired quality output in a time-bound manner," the mines ministry said in a statement. Rao said the power ministry has envisioned construction of a large numb