Mines Ministry

India auctions 200 mineral blocks in FY26, highest ever, with states playing a key role as focus sharpens on critical minerals and resource security

The government has rolled out a Rs 210-crore, three-year critical minerals research programme led by ANRF and the Ministry of Mines, restricted to nine Centres of Excellence

Coal India Ltd is accelerating its diversification strategy by bidding for domestic critical mineral blocks and scouting global lithium, graphite, and rare earth assets

The mines ministry rules out any move to limit bid premiums for critical minerals, even as aggressive offers raise questions over their commercial viability

Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat lead in the first State Mining Readiness Index, as the Centre benchmarks States to boost mining reforms and sustainable practices

The mines ministry launched the sixth tranche of critical minerals auction for 23 blocks across 13 states and announced Rs 1 crore insurance cover for PSU miners

The Centre will launch the sixth tranche of auctions for critical and strategic minerals on Tuesday, offering 23 blocks and announcing the first set of bidders for exploration licences

The Union Cabinet has approved a Rs 1,500 crore scheme under the National Critical Mineral Mission to promote recycling of e-waste and batteries for mineral recovery

Union Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy on Saturday said the Centre would set up a mineral trading exchange similar to the London Metal Exchange. In a media interaction here, he said the mineral exchange would be established as per the norms of SEBI. "Like the London Metal Exchange, we are going to set up a mineral exchange in India," he said. The proposed mineral exchange is expected to facilitate better price discovery for industries, traders and other stakeholders. Mineral exchange was made part of recently-passed legislation and the guidelines concerned would be issued soon, he said. Asked if the US tariffs would have any impact on the domestic coal industry, he said it would not be much. He further said the country exports aluminium to America in a small measure. Reddy said the government had reduced coal imports substantially, saving foreign exchange to the tune of Rs 60,000 crore. The steel-makers in the country have boilers built for using good quality imported coa

Govt unveils copper and aluminium vision documents targeting output expansion, global mineral asset acquisition, higher recycling and low-carbon technologies

Midwest Advanced Materials to produce rare earth magnets as India eyes local recycling of critical minerals following China's supply curbs

The iron ore production in April-February period of the current fiscal rose by 4.4 per cent to 263 million tonne (MT). In the year-ago period, the production was 252 MT, the mines ministry said in a statement. The production of iron ore was 274 MT in 2023-24. Iron ore accounts for 70 per cent of the total mineral production by value. Manganese ore production increased 12.8 per cent to 3.4 MT in April-February FY25 from 3 MT during the corresponding period of previous year. Bauxite output rose by 3.6 per cent to 22.7 MT in the period from 21.9 MT a year ago. In the non-ferrous metal sector, primary aluminium production in April- February FY25 rose 0.9 per cent over the corresponding period last year. India is the second largest aluminium producer, among top ten producers in refined copper and fourth largest iron ore producer in the world. Continued growth in production of iron ore in the current financial year reflects the robust demand conditions in the user industry viz. steel.

Financial incentives, fast-track approval, mineral pacts with foreign nations planned

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