Page 8 - Mineral Sector

60 projects worth more than Rs 18K cr sanctioned from OMBADC fund: Official

The Odisha government has sanctioned 60 projects worth more than Rs 18,000 crore from Odisha Mineral Bearing Area Development Corporation (OMBADC) funds till October this year, an official said. OMBADC chief executive officer G Rajesh said this during the meeting of the board of directors of the corporation held under the chairmanship of chief secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena on Thursday. OMBADC, a special-purpose vehicle of the Government of Odisha, was incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 in December 2014. Rajesh said that the board has approved 60 projects under different sectors amounting to more than Rs 18,000 crore against the total collection of Rs 20,700 crore till October 2023. The 18 departments, which are executing the OMBADC projects, have utilised 72 per cent of the released amount which stands at Rs 10,868 crore, he said. The highest expenditure of 93 per cent has been made by the Housing and Urban Development department followed by Panchayati Raj and Drinking Wate

First tranche auction of critical and strategic minerals to start on Nov 29

Twenty blocks of critical and strategic minerals being put on sale are spread across the country from November 29

Draft mineral auction rules: Single bidder allowed in second attempt

The proposed amendments would enable the awarding of contracts even if only one technical bidder participates in the second attempt of the auction process

Govt to invite bids for 20 critical mineral blocks in 2 weeks: Mines secy

The government will invite bids for 20 critical mineral blocks in next two weeks, a top official said on Tuesday. The 20 critical blocks include lithium and graphite mines, Mines Secretary V L Kantha Rao told reporters here. Last month, the Centre had approved royalty rates of three per cent each for lithium and niobium and one per cent for Rare Earth Elements (REEs). Critical minerals have become important for the nation's economic development and national security. Lithium and REEs have gained significance keeping in mind the country's commitment towards energy transition and achieving net-zero emission by 2070.

India's mineral production rises 10.7% in July: Indian Bureau of Mines

India's mineral output rose 10.7 per cent in July as compared to the same month a year ago, the mines ministry said in a statement on Thursday. The index of mineral production of the mining and quarrying sector for July 2023 was at 111.9, higher 10.7 per cent as compared to the year-ago period, as per the provisional figures of Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM). The cumulative growth for April-July period of this fiscal year over the corresponding period of FY23 is 7.3 per cent. The production level of important minerals in July includes coal (693 lakh tonne), lignite (32 lakh tonne), petroleum (crude) 25 lakh tonne, bauxite (14,77,000 tonne), and chromite (2,80,000 tonne). Minerals that registered growth during July 2023 as against July 2022 include chromite, manganese ore, coal, limestone, iron ore, gold and copper conc. Minerals that saw contraction include lignite, bauxite, phosphorite and diamond.

Madhya Pradesh auctions 22 mineral blocks, to earn Rs 38,100 crore

Latest auction elevates state's total to 68 blocks, the highest in India

NMET allots Rs 2,100 cr for 309 mineral exploration projects, 151 completed

Union Minister for Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi highlighted that efforts are also made to speed up the auction process of critical minerals in India

Minerals security partnership continues to expand with India, says US

US also affirmed that country would continue to expand the Minerals security partnership with 14 partners including India as clean energy and other technologies, are projected to grow significantly

India's domestic mineral production records 7.6% YoY growth in June

The Ministry of Mines on Thursday said that domestic mineral production grew 7.6 per cent year-on-year in June

Lithium to niobium, export ban on 4 critical new energy metals on the table

Lithium, beryllium, niobium, and tantalum are to be banned for export

New regulations to boost mineral mining and revenue sharing in India

Miners may receive revenue shares and exploration rights for deep-seated minerals under the amended Mines and Minerals Act, aiming to enhance mineral exploration and domestic production

Mines and Minerals Bill passed in RS, special focus on critical minerals

The bill confers upon the centre the exclusive right to auction mineral concessions for critical minerals specified in part D of the first schedule of the Act

Mining an opportunity: Firm, transparent laws key to attract investments

Recent laws opening critical minerals to private mining raise hopes that the lessons of privatisation of coal and iron ore have been learnt

Bill introduced to start private mining of deep-seated critical minerals

The move aims to achieve India's energy transition targets

GSI conducts 122 exploration projects for critical minerals this year

In the last three years, a total of 422 critical minerals exploration projects were taken by the scientific agency

India's critical minerals' list likely to spur investment in allied sectors

The businesses will start investing initially. But for their requirements in the long term, experts expect joint ventures with global extracting, processing, and manufacturing companies for now

India set to get its first list of critical minerals on Wednesday

The critical minerals list is likely to have more than 40 minerals

Minerals Security Partnership: What is it, and why is it important?

The Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) was announced in June 2022 by the US to strengthen critical mineral supply chains; India is not a part of the 11-member group

PM Modi's US visit: India's entry into critical mineral alliance on table

US-led coalition aims to secure stable supply for minerals like lithium

One-third of annual exploration projects are for critical minerals: GSI

Amid the buzz of 'green economy', the Geological Survey of India (GSI) is intensifying its exploration exercises for critical minerals, like lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements, with "one-third" of such projects being dedicated to the search of these resources, a top official said on Sunday. These critical minerals are key to clean energy technologies. The national survey organisation, which now has a working collaboration with Geoscience Australia for mineral exploration, is also in talks for tie-ups with the authorities in Russia and Brazil, GSI Deputy Director General (Policy Support System - Planning and Monitoring) Asit Saha said. "We have been taking up more than 100 exploration projects every year for critical minerals since 2020-21. The same trend continues this year (2023-24) also, as it is our thrust area. Earlier, the number of such projects was to the tune of 60-70 but now we have drastically increased it. "Out of a total of around 350 mineral exploration ..