India is gearing up to initiate the auction process for approximately hundred crucial mineral blocks in the next couple of months. This move is part of India’s strategy to secure a stable domestic supply of raw materials essential for supporting the transition to green energy. The mineral blocks will encompass resources like nickel, lithium, cobalt, platinum, and rare earth elements. Mines Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj shared these details in an interview held in New Delhi.
India is urgently striving to ensure a secure supply of critical minerals to facilitate its ambition of becoming a significant center for battery and electric vehicle manufacturing and to achieve its net-zero emissions target. Presently, India does not produce key materials like lithium, cobalt, and nickel within the country.
To encourage both global and local mining companies to participate in this process, the government plans to reimburse half of the exploration costs. It is anticipated that companies will require a minimum of three years to begin mining operations. As reported by Business Standard, recently, the mining regulations were changed to promote the exploration of critical minerals, including lithium, by permitting private mining companies to search for these materials. These reforms are pivotal for the auctioning of lithium blocks recently identified in Jammu and Kashmir and Karnataka states.
Some state-owned enterprises have been actively seeking such mineral assets worldwide, while major energy companies like Coal India Ltd. and NTPC Ltd. are formulating strategies to mine these essential materials. Additionally, Khanij Bidesh India Ltd., a joint venture involving three government-run firms, has been established to acquire critical mineral assets abroad, primarily in Australia and South America.
