The government has finalised amendments to the Offshore Mining law of 2002 under which “not a single rock has been mined from the sea-bed yet”, and will introduce it in Parliament soon, Union Mines Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj said on Tuesday.
The proposed changes to the law, for which consultations have been concluded, will facilitate private sector participation in the mining of non-atomic minerals in India’s territorial waters and continental shelf.
The Mines Ministry is also working with five States, including Odisha, Gujarat and Rajasthan, to auction 21 mines this year which will come with all requisite clearances embedded in the contract, so that production can begin within months. “Hopefully, we will undertake the first such auction this year,” Mr. Bharadwaj said at a FICCI event.
Stressing that the Offshore Area Mineral (Development & Regulation) Act, 2002 has resulted in no actual mining activity, largely due to litigation, the Secretary said consultations on the proposed changes to the law are now over. “It would be shortly debated by Parliament, hopefully very soon,” he said.
While the government will continue exploration efforts after the “lucky” discovery of lithium reserves in Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Bharadwaj said industry must focus on more efficient processing technologies for critical minerals. He cited the example of China where the maximum lithium ore is processed in the world even though that country doesn’t have the largest reserves of lithium.
