2nd State Mining Ministers’ Conference in Bhopal

Union Ministry of Mines will be organizing the 2nd State Mining Ministers’ Conference on 23rd January, 2024 at the Kushabhai Thakre International Convention Centre in Bhopal. The Conference will discuss mining sector reforms.

Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi will preside over the Conference. Chief Minister of MP, Dr. Mohan Yadav will be the Chief Guest. Mining Ministers of States, Secretary, Ministry of Mines Shri V.L. Kantha Rao, will be participating in the Conference, along with senior officials from the Ministry and its organizations, State Governments and various stakeholders.

The Conference will be preceded by the 63rd meeting of the Central Geological Programming Board (CGPB) at the same venue on 22nd January, 2024. CGPB is the national-level apex body to coordinate the activities on geological mapping, mineral prospecting and exploration in the country.

The meeting will be attended by about 150 stakeholders representing Central Ministries like DAE, D/o Space and Ministry of Earth Sciences; PSUs like ONGC and MOIL; CSIR Labs like NGRI and CIMFR; other institutions like Survey of India, NDMA and IIT-ISM Dhanbad; State Governments; Notified Private Exploration Agencies; and industry / industry bodies like Tata Steel, HZL and FIMI. In the CGPB meeting, GSI will put up for approval 1,055 scientific programs for field season (FS) 2024-25, including projects having the potential to generate auctionable mineral blocks in near future. Projects on strategic & critical and fertilizer minerals have also been proposed for FS 2024-25, besides natural hazard studies/ public good geoscience projects.

These events are being organized in the backdrop of the mining sector reforms undertaken over the last 9 years, and several more initiatives which will be announced at the Conference. At the inaugural session of the Mining Ministers’ Conference, geological reports/ memoranda will be handed over to 17 State Governments for auctioning of mineral blocks.

In order to recognize the efforts of States in auctions, three States will be felicitated. The notification of rules to implement the Exploration License (EL) regime will be unveiled, along with handing over of mineral blocks to State Governments to kick-start the EL auctionprocess. Newly notified private exploration agencies will be handed over certificates. A dedicated module under the Mining Tenement System (for average sale price based on real-time price data) will be launched. A re-designed template based on industry feedback for the Star Rating System, which acknowledges sustainable mining practices by miners, will also be launched. A Coffee Table book documenting 40 notable interventions by District Mineral Foundations will be released.

There will be three technical sessions at the Conference to deliberate on new initiatives and exchange policy perspectives. The first session will have presentations on mining reforms of 2023, exploration license, critical minerals and offshore mining, while the second session will present the National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR) – a portal recently placed in public domain with 23 lakh sq. km. of geoscience data collated therein – and the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET), set up in 2015 for exploration funding. In the last session, five State Governments, namely Jharkhand, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha will make presentations on best practices in mining. The Conference will be attended by Ministers/ Secretaries and Directors of mining departments of 20 States.

Ministry of Mines will organize an Exhibition on the theme, “Mining and Beyond”, in which GSI, DMFs, major mining companies, private exploration agencies, startups, besides Madhya Pradesh government will showcase their achievements.