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The Minister of Coal and Mines, Pralhad Joshi introduced the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation Amendment) Bill, 2023 in Parliament on 26 July, 2023. The Bill empowers the Central government to exclusively auction mining lease and composite licence for certain critical minerals.
With this, six more critical minerals, beryllium, lithium, niobium, titanium, tantallium, zirconium, will be opened up for the private sector for exploration and mining. The blocks explored by the licence holder will be auctioned for mining lease within a prescribed timeline, and the exploration agency would be entitled to a share in the auction premium, payable by the mining leaseholder.
Overall, the amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDR Act) will thus accelerate the discovery of critical minerals and help create a larger proven reserve base by incentivising private sector participation in all spheres of mineral exploration. These minerals find applications in the space industry, electronics, energy sector, electric batteries and storage solutions.
As most of the requirements for these deep-seated minerals are fufilled through imports, the shift will enhance energy security and reducing import reliance. |
