India: Ministry offers partial relief to pending barytes, feldspar, mica, quartz applications

• Leases to be granted for LoIs issued before 20 Feb'25
  
  
• Move to protect small, medium-scale miners' investments
  
  

Having decided earlier this year to consider barytes, felspar, mica, and quartz as major minerals, the Indian central government has now clarified that states may grant and execute leases where a letter of intent (LoI) has been granted or a preferred bidder recognised.

As minor minerals, the grant and regulation of these four minerals are to be done by the respective states. Through a notification dated 20 February 2025, the Ministry pulled these out of the list of "minor minerals" in alignment with the National Critical Mineral Mission. Certain guidelines to the state governments for the transition of existing mining leases had followed, but states, along with mining associations and lease holders, had sought clarity on applications already pending before respective state mining departments, mostly for areas of less than 5 hectares.

The Mines Ministry has decided:

(a) Where an application has been made for the grant of a mineral concession, but the state government has not issued a letter of intent (LoI) before 20 February 2025, the application shall lapse.

(b) Where an LoI had been issued by the state before 20 February 2025 and remains valid on the date, where auction for grant of the concession has been concluded and preferred bidder selected but the LoI has not been issued, a mining lease shall be granted and executed in accordance with the rules made by the state government in respect of minor minerals within a period of 2 years from the date of issue of this order.

No mining lease shall be executed after the said period. The lease, when operational, will have to comply with rules applicable to "minerals other than minor minerals". The Ministry, through its recent notification, said it believes that this decision will protect the investment of the small- and medium-scale miners made in obtaining the mineral concession, which will increase employment in the mining sector, augment mineral production, and increase revenue to the state governments.