Increased exploration, sustainability to boost critical mineral production in India

The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) held a two-day conference in Ahmedabad on 21-22 February, 2024, focusing on Indian industrial minerals.

Industrial minerals are crucial for various products, including cement, ceramics, glass, and fertilizers. The demand for these minerals is expected to rise due to rural development initiatives and urbanisation. Thus, it is necessary to enhance exploration and tap these resources to lower the dependence on imports, highlighted Shantesh Gureddi, President, FIMI.

Roopwant Singh, Managing Director Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation, highlighted GMDC's transformation plan for long-term value creation:

1. Metal mining & concentration: Extracting valuable metals (copper, zinc, lead, precious metals) from the estimated 7.3 mnt reserves at Ambaji. Mining and concentration are identified as key value drivers, with a total metallic content estimated at 10% (copper equivalent: 5.42%).
   
   
2. Limestone mining & downstream: Leveraging the estimated 2500 mnt limestone reserves in Kutch to cater to the growing cement market (6.5% CAGR) and address the expected supply deficit in the Western region. Strategic partnerships with cement players are crucial for limestone offtake.
   
   
3. Critical minerals: Utilising the 40 mnt reserves (1.5% grade) containing Neodymium, Praseodymium, and other critical minerals to support the government's clean energy transition goals. Separating these minerals into distinct metal oxides is identified as a key value pool.
   
   

Lignite projects: Operationalising five new lignite reserves (over 380 mnt) across Kutch and South Gujarat. Early operationalisation and resource depletion are targeted to meet the state's fuel demand and reduce reliance on imported coal.

With less than 10% of India's mineral resources are explored, with low spending compared to global peers, India is facing many challenges in mining, said Rajib Maitra, Partner, Deloitte Consulting. Other challenges include - lengthy statutory clearances for land acquisition and environmental approvals, multiple taxes and auction premiums and lack economies of scale. However, following suggestions can help unlock country's overall mineral potential-

• Increased exploration spending with attractive incentives
  
  
• Streamlining clearances to expedite project development
  
  
• Rationalising tax structures to improve competitiveness
  
  
• Encouraging consolidation to achieve economies of scale
  
  
• Adopting sustainable practices with clear emission reduction targets and technology adoption
  
  

Talking about mineral policies, Kapil Kher, Ultra Tech Cement shared the production of limestone was at 393 mnt in 2021-22 increased by 12.50%, as compared to that in the previous year. Blocks with pre-embedded clearances should be brought out in auction, faster allocation of resources, time taken for grant of LoI should be reduced substantially are some risk mitigation strategies that can help industry boost supplies of industrial minerals.