New Delhi: In a bid to fast-track forest and environmental clearances for critical or strategically important minerals, including rare earth ones, the union environment ministry is considering these proposals under a separate head in its Parivesh 2.0 portal.
The ministry issued a clarification to all states and UTs in March, some of these proposals are now under consideration on the portal, according to industry bodies which include members who have got licenses recently. According to the letter available on Parivesh website, the ministry of mines raised certain issues seeking clarification which includes “Exempting critical mineral mining from Forest (Conservation) Act.” To which MoEFCC said: “As per the provisions of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, mining in forest land is a non-forestry activity and accordingly requires prior approval of the Central Government. However, a separate ‘category’ has been created in PARIVESH 2.0 for processing of FC for mining proposals for critical minerals, so that such proposals can be taken up on priority.”
The separate category cannot be viewed on Parivesh website but can be accessed by those with a composite or mining licence , industry bodies said.
{{/usCountry}}The separate category cannot be viewed on Parivesh website but can be accessed by those with a composite or mining licence , industry bodies said.
{{/usCountry}}The move is significant particularly in view of China’s export restrictions on critical minerals. In response to US’s tariff imposition, China placed export restrictions on rare earth elements in April, which not only squeezed supply of minerals and magnets to the West but also to all other importers including India. China effectively has a monopoly over critical mineral resources.
China holds important reserves of many critical minerals, accounting for 10% of global lithium reserves, 28% of graphite, 49% ofr rare earth elements (REEs) and 20% of zinc. China also accounts for a significant share of global mining output for many critical minerals, including 22% of lithium, 61% of REEs and 87% of natural graphite, according to the International Energy Agency.
“A separate window on Parivesh 2.0 is one of the steps that may help shorten regulatory formalities for critical minerals and help the government track which projects are coming up, but it’s still not enough to ensure that even 10% of India’s critical mineral requirements are met domestically,” said an industry representative.
So far 46 composite licences have been issued through auction of critical mineral reserves and 13 mining leases have also been issued by Central and state governments.
“The process is in very nascent stages. For example, for graphite, three mineral blocks for Mining leases were auctioned in 2018-19. These have still not been operationalised. Normally, for the mining leases, we have observed that from the stage of auctioning of mining leases and coming into production, whether critical mineral or normal, it takes at least 5 to 7 years. In the case of composite licenses, where the process begins with exploration, we are not sure how many mines will go on to be operationalised,” said BK Bhatia, director general, Federation of Indian Mineral Industries.
“This is why we have been recommending a different treatment for critical minerals which are extremely important strategically. The time taken needs to be cut so that at least 10% of our requirements can be met from domestic resources as recommended in the National Critical Mineral Mission. For now, it seems like that will not be possible unless a separate exclusive Single Window is set up for fast-tracking and grant of all clearances is considered,” Bhatia said.
Out of these composite licenses, a bulk are in central India--12 are in Madhya Pradesh and 9 in Chhattisgarh. There are 4 in Arunachal Pradesh; 4 in Karnataka; 6 in Uttar Pradesh; 2 each in Odisha, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. Most of these mines are likely to be in forest areas, industry representatives said.
In June 2023, a seven-member committee constituted by the ministry of mines identified a set of 30 critical minerals based on a three stage assessment of resource/ reserve position in the country, production, import dependency, use for future technology/ clean energy, and requirement for fertilizers.
These are Antimony, Beryllium, Bismuth, Cobalt, Copper, Gallium, Germanium, Graphite, Hafnium, Indium, Lithium, Molybdenum, Niobium, Nickel, Platinum group elements, Phosphorous, Potash, rare earth elements, Rhenium, Silicon, Strontium, Tantalum, Tellurium, Tin, Titanium, Tungsten, Vanadium, Zirconium, Selenium and Cadmium. The committee included members from Khanij Bidesh India Limited; Geological Survey of India; and Niti Aayog.
The Centre identified that these critical minerals are essential for the advancement of many sectors, including high-tech electronics, telecommunications, EVs, and defence. They are also vital to power the global transition to a low-emission economy.
In January, the Centre also launched the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) to establish a robust framework for self-reliance in the critical mineral sector. Under this mission, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has been tasked with conducting 1,200 exploration projects from 2024-25 to 2030-31.
A key relaxation, the ministry of mines made to facilitate exploration and mining of critical minerals, was to increase area limits for mining in July last year.
IEA has already flagged environmental impacts of mining rare earth, including biodiversity loss and social disruption due to land use change, water depletion and pollution, waste related contamination, and air pollution.
There are also 13 offshore mineral blocks in the process of auction. All of these are not categorised as critical minerals. Of these, 3 are off Kerala coast for construction sand; 3 off Gujarat coast in Porbandar for Limemud and 7 off Great Nicobar for Polymetallic Nodules and Crusts as per Ministry of Mines.