Minerals

Centre notifies strict rules to curb illegal offshore mineral mining

Centre has rolled out new regulatory framework for offshore minerals, mandating real-time vessel tracking, digital transit permits, stricter export clearances to prevent illegal mining and transport

Updated On: 05 Feb 2026 | 7:12 PM IST

Explained: What is Project Vault, Trump's $12 bn critical minerals plan?

The US government has rolled out Project Vault, a $12 billion scheme to stockpile rare earths and critical minerals, aiming to shield American companies from global supply disruptions

Updated On: 03 Feb 2026 | 11:40 AM IST

India's tax strategy: Attracting capital and tech, building resilience

Budget 2026-27 sharpens India's tax strategy to boost manufacturing, services, GCCs and digital infrastructure, while improving certainty and long-term investor confidence

Updated On: 03 Feb 2026 | 12:07 AM IST

Budget 2026: Focus on rare earths, tech need of the hour, says Manu Chandra

I don't see a major push in expanding export markets in this Budget

Updated On: 02 Feb 2026 | 6:55 PM IST

Budget targets rare-earth self-reliance with corridors, duty exemptions

Budget 2026 announces rare-earth corridors and waives customs duty on mineral processing equipment, aiming to cut import dependence and secure supply chains vital for EVs, renewable energy

Updated On: 01 Feb 2026 | 10:19 PM IST

Govt notifies coking coal as critical mineral to cut import dependence

The Centre has notified coking coal as a critical mineral to speed up mining, attract private investment, and cut India's heavy dependence on imports for steelmaking

Updated On: 29 Jan 2026 | 7:51 PM IST

Jaishankar to attend US Critical Minerals meet as India joins Pax Silica

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Washington in early February to attend the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial, as India prepares to join the US-led Pax Silica initiative

Updated On: 28 Jan 2026 | 9:18 PM IST

US to inject $1.6 billion into rare earths miner for 10% stake: Report

The government would receive 16.1 million shares in the rare earths company, along with warrants for a further 17.6 million, both priced at $17.17, the report said

Updated On: 25 Jan 2026 | 9:00 AM IST

Centre announces India's first tailings policy for critical minerals

Tailings refer to the leftover waste material after valuable minerals are extracted from crushed ore, forming a slurry of rock particles, water and processing chemicals

Updated On: 19 Jan 2026 | 10:24 PM IST

Nalco explores entry into rare earth mining amid critical minerals push

State-owned Nalco is open to venturing into mining of rare earth elements (REEs) with its bid advisor conducting due diligence on domestic auctions for REEs, magnesium and chromite blocks, its CMD Brijendra Pratap Singh Monday said. The move signals National Aluminium Company Ltd's (Nalco) diversification strategy beyond bauxite and alumina, targeting high-value critical minerals essential for electronics, defence, renewables and electric vehicles. REEs are important for magnets in wind turbines, EV motors and missile guidance systems. India, heavily import-dependent with negligible domestic output, views REE self-reliance as key to Atmanirbhar Bharat and reducing China's 80 per cent global dominance amid US-China trade tensions. In an interview to PTI here, the Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) said the bid advisor will assess mine viability, optimal acquisition premiums and participation in upcoming auctions. "The bid advisor will assess if we should participate in domestic .

Updated On: 19 Jan 2026 | 10:19 AM IST

China's rare-earth product exports fall as tensions with Japan draw focus

Rare earths have emerged as a flash point in trade relations in recent years, with the US and other nations seeking to challenge China's dominance of their mining and processing

Updated On: 18 Jan 2026 | 11:17 AM IST

Critical mineral supply chain needs collective global action: Vaishnaw

India urges global cooperation to build resilient critical minerals supply chains, focusing on rare earths, sustainable processing, technology sharing and recycling during a US ministerial meeting

Updated On: 13 Jan 2026 | 10:54 PM IST

Govt finalising RFP for ₹7,280 crore rare earth magnet scheme: Kumaraswamy

The government is in the process of finalising the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets, Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy said on Monday, urging domestic and international players to participate in the bidding process. The Minister for Heavy Industries & Steel chaired a stakeholder consultation meeting on the scheme with various industrial stakeholders from India and abroad. Kumaraswamy emphasised that the Scheme represents a pivotal step towards establishing a self-reliant, resilient, and globally competitive ecosystem for Rare Earth Permanent Magnets, aligning with the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047. "He urged all eligible domestic and international players to seize this opportunity and contribute to India's long-term growth story by participating in the bidding process. The minister also informed that the Ministry is in the process of finalising the Request for Proposal (RFP)," the Heavy Industries Ministry ..

Updated On: 12 Jan 2026 | 7:18 PM IST

US to push for quicker action in reducing reliance on China for rare earths

"Urgency is the theme of the day. It's a very big undertaking. There's a lot of different angles, a lot of different countries involved and we really just need to move faster," the official said

Updated On: 11 Jan 2026 | 9:11 PM IST

2025: When multilateralism weakened, but global trade remained resilient

In 2025, multilateral trade rules weakened as the US raised tariffs, yet global trade stayed resilient, led by strong supply chains, China's leverage and India's adaptive policy response

Updated On: 28 Dec 2025 | 10:45 PM IST

US revives graphite mining amid battery boom, China trade tensions

Graphite mines in the United States largely closed down seven decades ago. Mining the ubiquitous mineral found in everything from nuclear reactors to pencils seemed to make little sense when it could be imported inexpensively from other nations, especially China. That view is changing now. Demand for graphite, a key material in the lithium-ion batteries that power everything from phones to electric cars, is surging as trade tensions with China persist. With federal officials concerned about the steady supply of a number of critical minerals, several companies have plans to mine graphite. In New York, Titan Mining Corp has mined a limited amount of ore from a deposit in snowy woods about 40 km from the Canadian border, aiming for commercial sales by 2028. Company officials believe the geopolitical winds are at their backs to sell graphite concentrate for high-tech, industrial and military uses. That could include heat-resistant coatings in factories, anodes in large lithium-ion ...

Updated On: 26 Dec 2025 | 12:50 PM IST

China starts issuing licenses to import rare earth magnets into India

China has begun clearing export licences for rare earth magnets to India, easing supply disruptions for automakers and EV makers after months of delays caused by trade curbs

Updated On: 25 Dec 2025 | 11:58 PM IST

Parl panel suggests funding boost for IREL to prioritise rare earth mining

Amid the rising global demand for rare earth elements, a parliamentary panel has urged the government to bolster IREL (India) with focused budgetary support to prioritise exploration and mining of the critical mineral. IREL (India), a central public sector enterprise under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), is the only company in India that is engaged in the mining of rare earth ores and refining them into rare earth oxides. The Standing Committee on Coal, Mines, and Steel, in its latest report, also asked the government to formulate strategies for their domestic availability, identification, exploration, and economic viability, aiming to bring down the country's heavy import dependence. Rare earth minerals broadly are a group of metallic elements that are difficult and expensive to extract and process because they are rarely found in high concentrations. They play a critical role in clean energy applications like wind energy turbines, hybrid car batteries, electric motors, sol

Updated On: 21 Dec 2025 | 11:31 AM IST

Parl panel flags delays, seeks clearances for critical mineral projects

A Parliamentary Panel has flagged delays between mine auctions and operationalisation and has urged the government to explore setting up an inter-ministerial committee to monitor the post-auction progress for mineral and critical mineral projects. The panel also stressed that critical mineral projects should be given priority in necessary statutory clearances. "Although policy initiatives and simplification of exploration norms for auction of mineral blocks are in place, the Committee feels that the lengthy process of regulatory clearances, inadequate exploration, forest clearance requirement even at the exploration stage, considerable time lag between auction of mines and their operationalisation, etc., needs to be looked into," it said. The observations were made by the Standing Committee on Coal, Mines and Steel in its latest report titled "Self-Reliance in Minerals and Metals". "In view of these persistent challenges, the committee desires to explore the possibility of setting

Updated On: 18 Dec 2025 | 1:51 PM IST

Ashapura Minechem shares jump 5% to fresh high; what's driving the rally?

The market price of smallcap industrial products company hit a new high of ₹783, has more than doubled or zoomed 147 per cent from its 52-week low of ₹302 touched on March 11, 2025.

Updated On: 18 Dec 2025 | 1:07 PM IST