Argentina to share lithium geological information with India, promote JVs for projects

Argentina has offered to share lithium geological information for exploration with India as it aims to promote government-backed joint venture (JV) mining projects in the Latin American nation. The... 

India relooks revenue sharing contracts for auction of oil, gas blocks

The Indian government is having second thoughts over continuing with revenue sharing agreements in contracts with successful bidders at auction of oil and natural gas fields. While no decision has... 

India puts private coal mining on the backburner

Opening up of the Indian coal sector for commercial mining by private miners has officially been put on the backburner. The move to open up commercial mining and auction off coal blocks to private... 

India hands over national oil company assets to private investors

Finally overruling strident opposition, the Indian government has approved taking away smaller discovered oil and natural gas blocks of its national oil exploration and production (E&P) majors and... 

CIL lines up capex for renewed thrust on developing CBM assets

Seizing an opportunity offered by recently relaxed rules, State-run miner Coal India Limited (CIL) has lined up a corpus of around $422-million to kick-start its sputtering coalbed methane (CBM)... 

Indian Power Ministry directs priority coal supplies to pithead plants ahead of summer

The Indian Power Ministry has issued directives to its counterparts in the Coal Ministry and Indian Railways (IR) to give the highest priority to dry fuel supplies to pithead thermal power plants,... 

India’s Mines Ministry mulls bundled approvals ahead of new mine auctions

India’s Mines Ministry is working on a proposal to bundle mandatory approvals, like forest, environment and pollution, for bidders of 288 mining leases slated to expire in March next year.... 

HCL starts work on reopening copper mine, developing greenfield reserve

Indian State-run Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL), the country’s sole integrated copper producer, on Saturday started construction of a concentrator at its Rakha mines, marking efforts to restart the... 

India receives 145 bids for 25 small oil, natural gas fields at auction

The second round of auction of 25 discovered small fields (DSF) in the Indian oil and natural gas sector has received 145 bids from 39 investors, including six foreign companies, the sector... 

India's iron-ore output at 9-year high, but shortage looms next year

India is poised to close the current financial year with iron-ore production of about 210-million tons, the highest in the last nine years, but domestic steel mills are still haunted by the spectre... 

India permits women to work in underground coal mines

India’s Labour Ministry has issued notifications amending rules that will now permit women to work in underground coal mines to ensure gender equality and open up greater job opportunities. The... 

India to look at mining agreements during Argentine President's visit

India is preparing the groundwork to sign a slew of bilateral agreements with Argentina encompassing nuclear energy, and the mining of copper, lithium and cobalt during the visit of Argentine... 

Indian State-run JV to scout for overseas assets

The Indian government has formally approved a joint venture (JV) of State-run mineral companies exclusively dedicated to acquiring strategic mineral assets overseas. Christened Khanij Bidesh India... 

Red flags raised over Coal Ministry's plans to liberalise capital coal mining

Several government departments have raised red flags over the Coal Ministry’s proposal to liberalise captive coal mining in the country. The departments contend, in internal discussions, that the... 

Indian govt pushes for import duty hikes on primary aluminium, scrap

India’s Commerce Ministry is pushing for a hike in alumunium and aluminium scrap import duties in the forthcoming national Budget to offer protection to domestic producers reeling from a sharp... 

India’s SCCL firms up capex to spread operational hinterland

India’s Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has drawn up plans for $1.40-billion capital expenditure over the next five years to extend its footprint beyond its traditional mining... 

India mulls bringing natural gas under single unified tax regime

The Indian government has initiated moves to bring natural gas under the purview of Goods and Service Tax (GST) offering succor to a large number of gas-based power plants stranded by high-priced... 

India mulling higher iron-ore import duty

The Indian government is mulling an increase in the iron-ore import duty to check rising inward shipments of the steel-making raw material even as domestic market faces a glut. Government sources... 

Trapped Indian miners presumed dead

After more than a month, 15 illegal miners trapped in a coal mine in the north-eastern Indian state of Meghalaya are presumed to be dead even though the Supreme Court monitoring rescue operations... 

Foreign investors eye stake in IOC’s LNG terminal to be commissioned this month

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s largest oil refiner-marketer, will be willing to offer strategic equity stake to overseas investors in its liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal ready for... 

India fails to leverage DMF funds - report

Funds created through the taxation of mining, to mitigate the social and environmental impact of extraction, are grossly under-utilised across Indian states, a Parliamentary report has found. Funds... 

India’s plans for a natural gas trading hub in limbo

Having missed the December deadline to establish a national gas trading hub, India is unlikely to push ahead with its plans in the immediate future without solving the vexed issue of unbundling... 

India to auction 105 blocks in current FY, but upcoming election casts uncertainties

India will auction 105 mineral blocks before the end of the current financial year, the Mines Ministry informed Parliament on Thursday. According to information provided by the Mines Ministry,... 

India likely to allow power plants to swap imported and domestic coal

Pushing through further rationalisation of coal supply linkages, India’s Coal Ministry is working on permitting thermal power plant operators to swap imported transported to deep into the... 

Northern Coalfields to hit 100Mt production in current FY

Northern Coalfields Limited (NLC), the wholly-owned operational subsidiary of State-run Coal India Limited (CIL), will invest an additional $612-million over the next three months of current... 

India’s Coal Ministry extends timelines for ongoing coal block auction

India’s Coal Ministry has extended the timelines for various stages of auctioning 18 coal blocks that got underway on Wednesday and has also relaxed some terms and conditions for successful... 

RINL to bid for iron-ore block to diversify raw material sourcing

Indian state-run steel producer Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), which operates a 6.3-million-ton-a-year steel mill without any captive iron-ore asset, is planning to participate at auction of... 

India initiates moves toward freeing natural gas pricing

The Indian government has started work on shifting from administered price for natural gas to a free pricing regime, but the process is to be spread out over three years. According to officials,... 

India’s Nalco lines up $6.33bn expansion projects

Indian State-run National Aluminium Company (Nalco) has lined up $3.52-billion investments on brownfield expansion and another estimated $2.81-billion on greenfield projects over the next few... 

At least 13 illegal miners in north-eastern India feared killed

At least 13 people have been trapped and feared to be killed while illegally mining coal in the north-eastern Indian state of Meghalaya. According to preliminary reports received from government... 

India’s new EV promotion policy focus shifts to component manufacturing

The second stage of the Indian government’s policy for faster adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) will see a shift from offering financial incentives for purchasing EVs, to developing domestic... 

Indian govt to mediate in NMDC, Karnataka spat over iron-ore mine

In agreeing to mediate in the spat between State-run miner NMDC and the government of Karnataka over Donimalai iron-ore mine, the Steel Ministry has suggested that the Karnataka government does not... 

India approves bilateral agreement with Zimbabwe in mineral sector

The Indian government on Thursday accorded ex-post ratification of a bi-lateral agreement between India and Zimbabwe for collaboration in mining, geology and mineral resources. According to an... 

India working on policy for FSRU LNG terminals at all major ports

The Indian government will frame a policy to facilitate the construction of floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals at every major port in the country.... 

Uncertainty about maximum permissible area undermining Odisha mineral auction plans

Uncertainty over the maximum permissible area that can be granted for mining is undermining plans to hold fresh rounds of mineral block auctions in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. The Odisha... 

CCI dismisses complaints against Coal India

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has dismissed Hindustan Zinc Limited’s (HZL’s) complaint against State-run Coal India Limited (CIL) for alleged unfair trade practices in coal supplies.... 

Goa counting the cost of iron-ore mine closures

The government of the western Indian coastal state of Goa has estimated that it is losing $214-million a month in revenues, following the closure of all iron-ore mines since March. With neither... 

India’s GEECL lines up $2bn shale gas investment over next decade

India’s Great Eastern Energy Corporation Limited (GEECL) will invest an estimated $2-billion to develop shale gas resources at its coal blocks at Raniganj, in the eastern state of West Bengal.... 

Vedanta’s closed copper plant gets a lifeline

Vedanta’s closed Sterlite copper plant at Tuticorin, southern India, has been thrown a life line with a committee appointed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) reporting that the closure of the... 

Karnataka mine closure triggers conflicting claims on iron-ore supplies

The closure of NMDC’s Donimalai iron-ore mine has triggered conflicting claims about supplies, with the industry saying there is a shortage, which gives rise to higher prices and imports, while the...