Page 14 - Mining Industry

Vedanta group's Hindustan Zinc forays into strategic mineral exploration

Vedanta group firm Hindustan Zinc on Tuesday announced the formation of new subsidiary Hindmetal Exploration Services Pvt Ltd. The development aims at the company's foray into strategic mineral exploration and diversification of its portfolio. "In line with our vision and with our strategic exploration objective to upgrade Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources (R&R), the company has incorporated Hindmetal Exploration Services Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hindustan Zinc Ltd, with an objective to explore, discover, develop and tap mineral resources," Hindustan Zinc said in a regulatory filing. The arm was incorporated on Monday, it said. In the last decade, the Centre has introduced significant transformational reforms to open up the mineral sector to ensure its contribution to achieving the national policy goals and also allowed private sector participation in the exploration and mining of critical minerals which were earlier mined only by government companies, it ...

Govt carried out coal auctions after tweaking rules: Cong cites CAG reports

The Congress on Saturday cited CAG reports to allege that the government carried out coal auctions after tweaking rules in order to favour a select few industrialists and this caused huge revenue loss. The opposition party also asked why no action was taken by the government and the prime minister on letters by two BJP leaders raising concerns over the coal auctions. It further asked whether the government would order an ED investigation into the matter. While addressing a press conference, Congress leader Pawan Khera showed letters by BJP leader and now ministers R K Singh and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, raising concerns in 2015 over the coal auctions to some companies by allowing only two companies, who were related, to bid for the blocks that led to cartelisation and loss of revenue. He alleged that the two were later made ministers and no action was taken on their concerns thereafter. "Will the Modi government order an ED raid and investigate this sordid saga of collusion and ...

Mineral output increases by 5.1% in December, says mines ministry

India's mineral output increased by 5.1 per cent in December as compared to the year-ago period, the government said on Thursday. The index of mineral production of mining and quarrying sector for the month of December, 2023 at 139.4 is 5.1 per cent higher as compared to the level witnessed in the corresponding month of 2022, the mines ministry said in a statement. The cumulative growth rate in the mining and quarrying sector for the April-December period of the current fiscal over the corresponding period of previous financial year is 8.5 per cent, as per the provisional statistics of Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM). In December, the production of coal stood at 929 lakh tonnes while that of lignite at 40 lakh tonnes, iron ore at 255 lakh tonnes and limestone at 372 lakh tonnes. Production of lignite, limestone, coal, bauxite and natural gas showed positive growth. However, a negative growth was registered in the production of petroleum (crude), gold, chromite, phosphorite and ...

Bihar achieves just 51.78% of mining revenue collection target till Feb 14

The Mines and Geology department of Bihar government has expressed concern over revenue collections falling short of the target and warned officials of strict disciplinary action if they fail to get their act together before the financial year comes to a close. Officials have managed to achieve just Rs 1,896.43 crore of its revenue target of Rs 3,662.39 crore for 2023-24 from the mining sector till February 14, 2024, according to documents. As per the latest review meeting chaired by the Director of Mines and Geology the department has achieved 51.78 per cent of the mining revenue collection target till February 14. In some districts such as Nalanda, Kaimur, Gaya, Aurangabad, Nawada, Jehanabad, Lakhisarai, Jamui, Munger, Kishanganj, Banka, Bhagalpur and Saran the revenue collection is less than 50 per cent, it said. "If the revenue collection in these districts does not increase immediately, strict disciplinary action will be initiated against the concerned officials of these ...

Gasification projects to help in economic development of coal regions: Govt

The government on Wednesday said that coal gasification projects will help in socio-economic development of coal bearing regions as well as in boosting the country's energy security. Addressing a road show here to promote coal/lignite gasification projects, additional secretary in the coal ministry M Nagaraju called for investments in technology towards a greener and cleaner future. This was the second road show organised by the coal ministry on coal and lignite gasification projects after the first one held in Hyderabad on February 16. The event here was attended by key stakeholders, including policy makers, EPC agencies, PMC consultants and. They discussed the opportunities and hurdles associated with coal and lignite gasification projects. According to an official release, the road show served as a platform to highlight the government's scheme for the promotion of coal/lignite gasification projects, emphasising their key role in India's energy landscape and economic ...

JSW Steel in talks with Australia's Whitehaven for coal mine stake

The miner acquired the Blackwater and Daunia mines from BHP Group in a $4.1 billion deal last October, and expects the acquisition to complete in early April

Offshore mineral blocks' auction process to begin in 2-3 months: Secy

The government will begin the auction process for offshore mineral blocks in the next two-three months, Mines Secretary V L Kantha Rao said on Thursday. "...Ministry of Mines will start the auction process in next 2-3 months for these offshore blocks," he said. The government already has 35 offshore mineral blocks identified by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) for auction, Rao said, adding that 24 more blocks are in the pipeline which will be given to the mines ministry for sale, an official statement said. "As the process of auctioning of offshore blocks for exploration and exploitation is a new domain, for this initiative to succeed in a meaningful way, Mines Ministry is working on the Amendments in the Offshore Areas Mineral (Development & Regulation) Act, 2002," he said. Moreover, the Centre is also in the process of developing a standard operating procedures to be followed if a private sector bidder wins the block for exploration, Rao said. The secretary was speaking at a

Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Resources sells stake worth Rs 1,737 crore

Finsider International, part of billionaire Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Resources, sold more than 65.5 million Vedanta Ltd shares at 265.14 rupees each, the data showed

Vedanta's parent may sell $1 billion worth shares to GQG Partners: Report

Saddled with $6.4 bn in outstanding debt, including $4.5 bn payment due by fiscal 2025, Vedanta Resources has been attempting to shore up finances, including through recent debt restructuring

India's coal imports register 27% rise in December, reaches 23.35 MT

India's coal import registered a rise of 27.2 per cent to 23.35 Million Tonne (MT) in December, over the corresponding month of the previous fiscal. The coal ministry is aiming for zero thermal coal import by FY26. The country's coal import was 18.35 MT in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal, according to data compiled by mjunction services ltd. mjunction services ltd is a B2B e-commerce platform. "Coal imports in December 2023 stood around 23.35 million tonne...Imports in December 2023 were up by 27.25 per cent as compared to 18.35 MT recorded for December 2022," it said. Of the total imports in December, non-coking coal imports stood at 15.47 MT, against 10.61 MT imported in December 2022. Coking coal import volume was 4.84 MT, against 4.71 MT imported in the same month of the previous financial year. The coal import in the April-December period of the current fiscal increased to 192.43 MT, over 191.82 MT in the year-ago period. During the April-December period of t

Mine bidders to face penalties for delays; Centre proposes timelines

The government has outlined timelines for various activities involved in the process, accompanied by penalties for delays attributable to the bidder

Vedanta Resources makes upfront payment of $779 mn to bondholders

Metals and mining giant Vedanta Resources Ltd on Friday said it has made an upfront payment of USD 779 million to its bondholders and completed repayments as part of the debt restructuring exercise. The upfront payment to the bondholders was made on Wednesday, Vedanta Resources Ltd (VRL) said in a statement. VRL has completed repayments to its bondholders on February 7, 2024, in line with the consents it received earlier in the year in which maturities of USD 3.2 billion in bonds were successfully extended to 2029, the statement said. "Vedanta Resources has successfully made an upfront payment of USD 779 million in cash on February 7 to bondholders to redeem a portion of the bonds, and extend their maturities," the company, promoted by billionaire Anil Agarwal, said. It has also paid a consent fee of USD 68 million to the bondholders who had agreed to the restructuring, the company said. Vedanta in January received consent from bondholders to restructure four series of bonds to ea

Vedanta weighs sale of minority stake holding in Zambian copper assets

Vedanta will remain the majority shareholder in the unit if a minority stake is sold, Griffith said in an interview on the sidelines of an African mining conference in Cape Town

Ola Electric considers bidding for mining rights of lithium blocks

Amid growing energy needs, India is trying to encourage electric vehicle production to cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce reliance on fossil fuel imports

SRAM & MRAM forms JV with Indonesian firm to offer coal supply solutions

UK-based conglomerate SRAM & MRAM Group has formed a joint venture with Indonesian company Energi Alam BORNEO to offer coal supply solutions, according to a statement. The joint venture aims to optimize the procurement and distribution of Indonesian coal in the worldwide energy market, SRAM & MRAM Group said on Saturday. The group said that the joint venture is expected to supply around 300,000 tonnes of Indonesian coal worth USD 30 million (around Rs 250 crore) every month to the Indian market. Energi Alam BORNEO is a major coal trading company in Indonesia. The company sources coal from East Kalimantan, known for the largest coal content in Indonesia and caters to various industries such as power plants, cement, chemical, and industrial applications. SRAM & MRAM Group is a global conglomerate with diverse interests spanning various industries such as oil, technology, agriculture, airport solutions and cybersecurity. Hemalata Arumugam, Group CEO of SRAM & MRAM Group ..

Interim Budget: Critical minerals supply chain security takes prominence

In her Budget speech, the Finance Minister's emphasis on critical minerals signals a government commitment to achieving self-reliance in the supply of minerals crucial for cutting-edge technology

Core sector growth hits 14-month low of 3.8% in Dec due to high base

Only fertilisers and cement sectors see acceleration in output

Pentagon plans AI-based program to estimate prices for critical minerals

The program, which received little attention after it was announced on a Pentagon website in October, is part of Washington's broader efforts to jumpstart U.S. production of critical minerals

Centre asks GSI, others to increase pace of mineral blocks exploration

The government on Monday asked the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and other agencies to speed up exploration of mineral blocks. Speaking at the 63rd Central Geological Programming Board (CGPB) meeting, Mines Secretary V L Kantha Rao urged state governments to be more aggressive in the implementation of exploration projects through the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) funding. The GSI and other exploration agencies should increase the pace of exploration of critical minerals, Rao said. He further urged stakeholders to make use of geoscience data available in the National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR) portal for a smooth exploration process, the mines ministry said in a statement. The GSI has formulated about 1,055 scientific programmes for 2024-25, including 392 mineral development projects that have the potential to generate auctionable mineral blocks, in the near future.

Coal India plans to begin mining of critical minerals, including lithium

State-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) is mulling entering into the mining of critical minerals, including lithium, an official said. CIL plans to get a block from the government for exploration and once lithium reserves are proved, the PSU would go for mining, the official said. Lithium is the 'cosmic' mineral which is needed as part of the country's energy security plans. It is being seen as a game-changer mineral to achieve the Net Zero goals in the coming years. "We will take one block from Government of India and do exploration and once lithium is proved then we can go for mining," Coal India Director (Technical) B Veera Reddy told reporters here. Reddy also holds the additional charge of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Central Coalfields Ltd. Coal India's core business is mining, he said and exuded confidence that the PSU will definitely be successful in the mining of critical minerals. "We have expertise in coal mining and we can divert all our resources for mining of ..