Ministry of Mines finalizes draft National Mineral Exploration Policy

The Ministry of Mines has finalized a draft National Mineral Exploration Policy (NMEP) which has outlined a slew of measures for accelerating mineral exploration in the country. The policy has proposed to select the private explorer through a competitive bidding process conducted through an electronic auction.  It further proposed that private entities would be engaged to carry out regional and detailed exploration work with the right to a certain share in revenue from mining operation after the electronic auction of the mineral block discovered by the private explorer.

Moreover, the draft of the NMEP proposed to allow private companies to carry out exploration of mineral bearing areas in return for a share of the royalty given to state governments. The share of revenue to the state governments will be paid by way of royalty which would be accruing. However, the decision on whether the revenue share would be paid in form of a lumpsum or annuity through the lease period of the mine has been kept open-ended.

Meanwhile, Mines Minister Narendra Tomar has launched the Geological Survey of India’s ‘Uncover’ project. The project will be implemented in two selected areas of the country and is focused on probing for deep seated or concealed mineral deposits. The Geological Survey of India has identified 100 blocks covering 12,000 sq km which can be given to private explorer. The blocks have prospects of various minerals, including gold, iron, tin/tungsten and other strategic minerals. The Ministry of Mines will take “further action” with regard to handing them over to private explorers.