Page 8 - Mineral Sector

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 ..

52 coal projects to power 1-bn-tonne goal by 2026: CIL CMD Pramod Agarwal

'We will look at exports after fulfilling the fuel supply commitments and meeting the domestic coal demand of both the power and non-regulated sectors'

Chhattisgarh earns record mineral revenue of Rs 12,941 cr in 2022-23

Chhattisgarh has earned record revenue of Rs 12,941 crore from minerals for the year 2022-23, a rise of Rs 636 crore from the previous fiscal, a state government official said on Sunday. Iron ore fetched the highest Rs 3,607 crore followed by Rs 3,336 crore from coal, while Danetwada was the top-earning district in terms of mineral revenue, a press release from the state government said. "Limestone and bauxite too fetched sizable revenue. Dantewada contributed Rs 6419 crore, followed by Korba Rs 2361 crore, Raigarh Rs 1717 crore, Balod Rs 760 crore, Baloda Bazar Rs 315 crore, Kanker Rs 286 crore and Surguja Rs 262 crore," an official said. "The state government has auctioned 29 mineral blocks in Chhattisgarh on revenue sharing mode, which in the coming years will fetch the state Rs 1 lakh crore," said Anurag Diwan, Joint Director, Geology and Mining. For the first time under the revenue sharing system, the state government was able to earn Rs 52.52 lakh by participating in two ...

Bihar discovers deposits of critical minerals, preps for auctioning rights

The Bihar government is preparing to auction mining rights for minerals such as limestone, vanadium-bearing magnetite ilmenite, magnetite and glauconite that have been discovered in various non-forest areas of the state, a senior official said on Thursday. Explorations near Patalganga in Gaya, parts of Rohtas district and Majos in Jamui district found the presence of millions of tonnes of mineral reserves, according to an official document seen by PTI. "The state government will engage SBI Capital Markets (SBICAPS) as the transaction advisor for the auctions, and also to suggest the terms and conditions based on which the auctions would be held," Additional Chief Secretary and Mines Commissioner Harjot Kaur Bamhrah told PTI. "Undoubtedly, the discovery of such critical minerals in non-forest areas of the state is a matter of great satisfaction. We don't have to seek permission from authorities concerned before initiating exploration activities as these deposits are not in forest ...