The central government is set to seek Parliament’s nod this week for amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, aimed at enabling state funding for acquisition of overseas critical mineral assets.
Govt eyes overseas critical mineral assets
According to a report by ET that cited a senior official, the proposal has received the necessary approvals within the government and the Bill is most likely to be tabled in Parliament as early as Monday.
The funding for such acquisitions will come from collections accrued in the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET), which holds Rs 6,000 crore collected from mining lease holders who deposit 2 per cent of applicable royalty.
Trust to be renamed, mandate expanded
Per the details in the report, the trust will be renamed to include “development” in its title, reflecting its expanded mandate to cover exploration, acquisition and development of critical mineral assets abroad as well.
Earlier in January, another report by ET had mentioned that fresh amendments are expected to be made this year to the MMDR Act, aimed at boosting critical mineral supply chains. The Act was last amended in 2023.
“The amendment will address the core issue of critical mineral raw material availability,” the official told the publication.
States to get power to permit lump sum sales
Besides, the Centre is also planning to allow disposal of mineral dumps from captive mines through lump sum sale. “There are a number of captive mines where huge dumps of minerals have been accumulated which are not usable due to its low grade or unsuitability for the plants,” the official said.
The existing rules governing captive mines do not allow the disposal of such dumps and the proposed changes will empower states to permit sale of dumps stacked in the leased area on payment of an additional amount.
Additionally, regulations are also proposed to be simplified to let leaseholders add newly discovered minerals or contiguous areas—up to 10 per cent of the existing lease—to their current mining permits for a one-time fee.