Page 2 - Mines

Dhanbad mine collapse: NDRF, BCCL begin rescue operation for trapped miners

A joint team from the NDRF and the Bharat Coking Coal Ltd started a search operation to rescue miners allegedly trapped during illegal mining in an abandoned coal mine in Jharkhand's Dhanbad, officials said. The operation by a 35-member squad of the NDRF and a 15-member BCCL mines' rescue wing began around 11.30 am, after a futile attempt to search for the miners late on Thursday evening. Meanwhile, confusion continues over the alleged mine collapse incident at the Block-2 closed underground mines of BCCL at Baghmara, with several leaders claiming muiltiple deaths in the incident. The NDRF was mobilised on Wednesday after Giridih MP C P Choudhary staged a dharna at Baghmara police station, demanding immediate rescue operations at the spot. "The MP has pointed out three spots as suspected sites of trapped persons. Search operation has started at one of the spots and other locations would come under its ambit soon," Baghmara police station officer in-charge Ajit Kumar said. The ...

Govt awards seven-star ratings to three mines for green practices

Mines are rated on mine-level impact management, progressive mine closure and restoration, social welfare, and reporting, with three mines receiving seven-star ratings for their exceptional practices

Tata Steel gets ₹1,902 crore demand over Sukinda Mine dispatch shortfall

Revised assessment cites breach of mineral rules and shortfall in dispatches from Sukinda Chromite Block; Tata Steel plans legal action against the demand

Coal miners spent ₹3K cr on progressive mine closure in 3 years: Official

About Rs 3,000 crore was spent during the last three years by coal mine operators on progressive mine closure in the country due to the efficient work by the Coal Controller, said a senior official on Friday. Addressing the Indian National Committee of the World Mining Congress (INC WMC) here, V L Kantha Rao, Secretary, Ministry of Mines, also said that when it comes to the non-coal sector, the Controller General of the Indian Bureau of Mines is ensuring that all 1,200 mines are undertaking progressive mine closure. "They (Coal Controller) have ensured that in the existing, there are about 500 coal mines, and people have spent about Rs 3,000 crore in the last three years on progressive mine closure. That's a big achievement, and all the credit goes to this Coal Controller who has ensured that people spend not only at the end of the coal mine but also every five years," Kantha Rao said. He further said that in the case of non-coal, the state governments have been a bit slow in carryi

Coal ministry to auction 25 commercial mines in FY26 to boost output

The auctions aim to expand coal production capacity, replace depleted mines and ensure long-term energy security as India targets net zero via diversification

Risky bet: Mining fatalities decline, but safety remains elusive

In recent years, the number of fatalities has come down as the government has cracked down on illegal rat hole mining

3 dead, 6 trapped in flooded Assam coal mine; rescue efforts continue

Nine workers, aged between 26 and 57, became trapped when water inundated the mine, believed to be the result of damaging an underground water source during excavation

Auction of 11 critical mineral blocks called off over poor response

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

Adani's Kutch copper refinery to help cut reliance on imports: Govt

The government on Friday said that once Adani's Kutch copper refinery is ramped up to full capacity, which is likely by early next year, the country will be self-sufficient in refined copper. In a statement, the mines ministry said that till that time some amount of import of refined copper will take place in India. "Adani's Kutch Copper Refinery has since come into production. However, as per company officials, ramp up to full capacity will require some more time (about Feb-March 2025). Once achieved, India will be self-sufficient in refined copper, and will not have to rely on imports," it said. In the last fiscal, India imported about 3,63,000 tonnes of refined copper cathode worth Rs 24,552 crore. Japan accounts for about two-thirds 67 per cent-- of the refined copper imports. In quantity terms, about 69 per cent of the country's refined copper imports come from Japan. Tanzania is India's second important source of refined copper, contributing about 18 per cent of the imports

Japan holds Sado mines memorial despite South Korean boycott amid tensions

Japan held a memorial ceremony on Sunday near the Sado Island Gold Mines despite a last-minute boycott of the event by South Korea that highlighted tensions between the neighbors over the issue of Korean forced laborers at the site before and during World War II. South Korea's absence at Sunday's memorial, to which Seoul government officials and Korean victims' families were invited, is a major setback in the rapidly improving ties between the two countries, which since last year have set aside their historical disputes to prioritize U.S.-led security cooperation. The Sado mines were listed in July as a UNESCO World Heritage site after Japan moved past years of disputes with South Korea and reluctantly acknowledged the mines' dark history, promising to hold an annual memorial service for all victims, including hundreds of Koreans who were mobilized to work in the mines. On Saturday, South Korea announced it would not attend the event, saying it was impossible to settle unspecified .

Centre introduces new royalty rates ahead of first offshore mineral auction

The Act has established ad valorem royalty rates for key minerals, meaning that rates are based on the mineral's sale value rather than quantity

Mine over matter: Critical mineral policy must address industry needs

Creating a responsive enabling environment for the critical mineral mining industry is the key to ensuring that this vital business does not go the way of previous governments' oil exploration policy

Hindustan Copper plans to increase mine production capacity to 12.2 MTPA

State-owned Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) is implementing expansion projects to increase mine production capacity to 12.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), its CMD Ghanshyam Sharma said on Thursday. The move will boost domestic production of copper and reduce dependence on imports. The company achieved ore production of 3.78 million tonnes in FY'24 against 3.35 MT in FY'23, registering a rise of 13 per cent. Speaking during the 57th Annual General Meeting, Sharma who is holding the addition charge of Chairman and Managing Director, said that the ongoing capacity expansion project i.e. development of underground mine below the existing open cast mine at Malanjkhand Copper Project (MCP) will augment the ore production capacity from 2.5 MTPA to 5 MTPA. The ore production from open cast mine has now exhausted and underground mine is operating below existing open cast mine leaving some barrier pillar. The project has achieved seamless transition from open cast to underground mine in 2023-2

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

Govt makes offshore mineral rules stricter but eases awarding process

The mines ministry has identified 10 offshore mineral blocks for potential auction and is holding inter-ministerial consultation to secure approval

Provisioned, expect limited impact from SC's ruling, say metal majors

Mining industry hit estimated at Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 trillion, companies to closely watch states for next move

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

CIL removes all restrictions on coal purchases, demand to dictate supply

Ends nearly 20-year practice of supply based on contracted capacity

JSW Steel to invest $120 mn in Australian miner for raw material security

The investment will be made through wholly owned subsidiary JSW Steel (Netherlands) BV

385 mines auctioned since 2015, only 50 operational; challenges persist

The government said the amendments made in the MMDR Act have led to speedy auction and production from mines