Page 2 - Strategic Minerals

Govt amends to MMDR Act for royalty on 12 critical, strategic minerals

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the amendment in the MMDR Act to specify the royalty rate on 12 critical and strategic minerals, an official statement said. A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of Mines said in a statement. "The Union Cabinet... approved the amendment of Second Schedule to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act) for specifying rate of royalty in respect of 12 critical and strategic minerals," the statement said. The 12 critical and strategic minerals are beryllium, cadmium, cobalt, gallium, indium, rhenium, selenium, tantalum, tellurium, titanium, tungsten, and vanadium, it said. This completes the exercise of the rationalisation of royalty rates for all 24 critical and strategic minerals, the Ministry said. The government notified the royalty rate of four critical minerals, namely glauconite, potash, molybdenum and platinum group of miner

China, in comic strip, warns of 'overseas' threats to its rare earth

It also banned the export of technology to make rare earth magnets, in addition a ban on technology to extract and separate rare earths

Critical, offshore mineral blocks set for auction in 2024: Official

Auctioning of critical mineral and offshore mineral blocks as well as giving exploration licences in 2024 are set to rejuvenate the country's mining sector that has the potential for a multiplier effect on economic growth. As the government focuses on self reliance, Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi told PTI, "every few months (in 2024) we will bring out a new batch of critical minerals for auction." Not just critical minerals, exploration of deep-seated minerals like gold and copper, as well as offshore areas are on the priority list. In November, the government launched the first tranche of e-auction of 20 mines of critical and strategic minerals. The blocks include copper, lithium, nickel and potash. A committee, set up by the mines ministry, had identified 30 minerals as critical and strategic, considering their economic importance and supply risk vis-a-vis India's priorities and future requirements for energy transition. Besides, a new Mineral Concession namely exploration licence

Centre allows notified pvt exploration agencies in mineral blocks auction

The mines ministry on Friday said it has permitted notified private exploration agencies to participate in the auction of critical and deep-seated mineral blocks explored by them. The development will attract bigger mining companies in the exploration arena and is likely to encourage junior mining companies from around the world to come to India and take up exploration projects with National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) funding. The ministry further said it has also launched a new scheme to directly sanction projects for exploration of critical and deep-seated minerals to notified private exploration agencies (NPEAs). This new scheme will help bring new technologies in the field of exploration. The decision to allow NPEAs to directly submit projects in Ministry of Mines will help cut delays in sanction of projects as well as fast-track execution of projects. The move aims at giving a fillip to exploration of critical and deep-seated minerals. "Ministry of Mines has launched a

Govt notifies 16 pvt exploration firms for critical, deep-seated minerals

In a bid to encourage private participation in exploration endeavours, the government will provide a financial incentive of up to 25 per cent of the approved cost of exploration

Mines ministry preparing policy for critical minerals to boost supply chain

The Mines Ministry is in the process of preparing a policy for critical minerals which will include a road map for strengthening the supply chain of these essential resources, an official release said on Monday. Critical minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements are essential components in many of today's rapidly growing clean energy technologies from wind turbines and electricity networks to electric vehicles. "The strategy will also identify the responsibilities of different ministries of Government of India in ensuring the resilience of the supply chain of critical minerals," the Mines Ministry said in a statement. The ministry is also preparing a strategy for recycling of metals which will help to increase the recycling capability and streamline the recycling process and will also work with partner countries to co-develop mineral processing and raw material manufacturing capabilities. Apart from strengthening the domestic mechanisms, collaborati

Cabinet approves royalty rates for mining of Lithium, 2 other minerals

The Centre on Wednesday said it has approved royalty rates of 3 per cent each for lithium and niobium and 1 per cent for Rare Earth Elements (REEs). The decision on the royalty rates for the three critical and strategic minerals was taken by the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to an official statement. The royalty rate approval by the Cabinet will enable the Centre to auction lithium, niobium and REEs blocks for the first time in the country, it said. "The Union Cabinet... approved amendment of Second Schedule of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act) for specifying rate of royalty in respect of 3 critical and strategic minerals, namely, lithium, niobium and Rare Earth Elements," the Ministry of Mines said in a statement.

PM Modi warns of new colonialism model over control of critical minerals

China accounted for 70% of world mine production of rare earths in 2022 and is home to at least 85% of global processing capacity

Rajya Sabha passes Bill facilitating offshore mining and mineral auctions

The proposed legislation aims to unleash the untapped potential of India's offshore resources and enhance transparency in the allocation of minerals

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

Critical minerals supply could pull close to demand by 2030, says IEA

Clean tech minerals market surges to $320 billion in 2022

Heavy metal: Centre releases first ever list of 30 key critical minerals

Lithium, cobalt, and silicon among 30 minerals identified

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

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

Epsilon first Indian firm to invest $650 mn on EV battery parts plant in US

Move follows India-US minerals pact; firm to set up 50,000 mtpa plant with revenue generating potential of $500 million at full capacity utilisation

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 ..

India's dependence on China for rare earth minerals not good: Cong leader

Noting that over 90 per cent of rare earth minerals are imported from China, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Friday asked the government to give due priority to their exploration in India, saying "such kind of dependence" on a "hostile country" will not augur well. Raising the issue in Lok Sabha during Zero Hour, the Congress leader said exploration of rare earth minerals is "abysmally low" in the country and termed it as "achilles heels" in India's strategic planning. "The reason being that till now our government has been importing more than 90 per cent of the rare earth minerals from China," he said. He said rare earth minerals consists of 17 very critical elements, which are used in a range of items, from nuclear power and magnets to electric vehicles. In view of the wide ranging application of the rare earth mineral, Chowdhury said, "I think the kind of dependence that India has upon a hostile country for the earth materials will not augur good for our nation." The

Strategic minerals remain unattractive for miners

Domestic mining firms find the extraction process risky and expensive