Global Miners Must Play Role in India's Mineral Exploration

Confederation of Indian Industry has a prescription for country’s mining sector ailments

- Diptoshree Sengupta

India has one of the highest exploration potentials compared to other geological domains which are similar to its peninsular shield. But the country’s share of mine discoveries which have led to mining activities has been significantly low. According to industry bodies like the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), India should welcome private sector investments in exploration for an overall benefit of the sector.

India’s exploration focus has primarily remained on infrastructure commodities. However, as the country moves into a modern, high technology-driven 21 century economy, its mineral portfolio has to get the right balance of infrastructure and technology commodities.

Apart from east coast bauxite deposits, which were discovered in 1980, most of the country’s bulk commodities, such as iron ore, coal, manganese and limestone, were discovered either in the pre-independence era or in the 1960s. Most of the exploration budgets of GSI and MECL and other state agencies in the last many decades have focused on drilling and proving the resources in these known belts.

Even these explorations hardly focused on discovering the geologically and structurally hidden bulk resources.

India has less than 0.3 percent of the world’s share of exploration expenditure in non-ferrous and non-bulk commodities like copper, lead, zinc, gold, rare metals, nickel and other essential commodities like phosphate, potash, etc.

India’s exploration focus should have two important objectives. Discovery of resources, enabled by a logical modern national mineral statutory framework, should contribute to India’s GDP growth by at least 4 percent in the next 10 years and discovery of those resources which would enhance India’s minerals security for 21st century requirement.

Challenges in mineral exploration