The Ministry of Mines has taken a conscious decision to shift the focus of exploration to deep seated minerals and non-ferrous metals. The shift is expected to gather momentum in view of the strategic requirement to fuel economic growth, Mr. Arun Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Mines, said recently. Addressing the conference on ‘Landscape for Non-Ferrous Metals in India: Vision 2030’, organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in association with the Ministry of Mines, Government of India, Mr. Kumar said that in order to ensure unhindered exploration of minerals in forested land, the Ministry has submitted detailed proposals on prospecting to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) since the present prospecting norms do not jell with those of the MoEF.
He said that a draft minerals policy is already in the public domain for stakeholder comments and feedback. This along with the exploration policy is expected to address the concerns of the industry on base metals. He said, the NITI Aayog was working on a strategic minerals and metals policy and the three policies together would pave the way for a road map for the development of non-ferrous metals sector in the country.
On the exploration of Aluminum deposits, Mr. Kumar said the country is endowed with large reserves and with greater transparency and settlement of the issue of price fixation, the process would be expedited. He said 10 bauxite blocks will be put up for auction in March-April this year. As for copper mining, he said that domestic production was a mere 4% of the requirement. He indicated that copper exploration blocks would come up for auction soon.
