Skip to main content

Important minerals, unimportant people: Motto of India's Critical Mineral Mission?

By SP Udayakumar* 

In our world, which has been hijacked by the capitalist triad of "Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization," humans, other living beings, and nature are no longer significant. What matters today are minerals that can be extracted and sold at a high price, making billionaires like Adani, Ambani, and Anil Agarwal even wealthier.
One of the primary responsibilities of the government now is to discover, extract, and market critical minerals scattered across the country. Based on this, India's Ministry of Mines announced the "National Critical Mineral Mission" as part of the 2024-25 Union Budget. Its goals are to enable the country’s economic growth and transition to a net-zero economy. This mission is designed to make India self-reliant in essential raw materials required for these initiatives.
The objectives of the Critical Mineral Mission are threefold: to increase domestic production of critical minerals, to recycle critical minerals, and to secure critical mineral resources from foreign countries.
The long list of critical minerals includes the following: lithium, graphite, copper, cobalt, nickel, gallium, molybdenum, platinum, phosphorus, potash, silicon, tin, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, and others.
Discovering, extracting, processing, and bringing these minerals to use are all key objectives of the Critical Mineral Mission. For this, mining blocks will be auctioned off in deep-sea regions, and joint ventures will be formed to obtain minerals from foreign countries.
The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act of 1957 was amended in 2023. As per the amendment, private companies are now allowed to participate in the discovery of six atomic minerals: lithium, beryllium, niobium, titanium, tantalum, and zirconium. Private companies will also be involved in extracting critical minerals, employing technologies, and conducting exploration activities.
Private companies like VV Mineral, Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (KMML), and Indian Rare Earths Limited (IRE), along with corporations in districts like Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, and Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, and Kollam and Alappuzha in Kerala, have been reaping enormous profits by extracting minerals such as garnet, rutile, zircon, leucoxene, sillimanite, ilmenite, and monazite.
Various studies and investigations have been conducted on these exploitations, culminating in a ruling by the Chennai High Court on March 27, 2018. The court directed the Union Government to regulate sand mining and restrict the extraction of monazite. Subsequently, in August 2018, sand export was banned, and in February 2019, the Modi government completely prohibited private companies from extracting sand. However, in October 2021, the Modi government did a sudden U-turn, scrapping all the previous measures taken over the last five years and allowing private companies to extract sand. Many suspect these rule changes are being made to hand over India’s coastal and mineral resources to the Adani Group. As a result, many local sand mining companies have already been shut down.
In this context, on January 9, 2023, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Tamil Nadu Minerals Limited and Indian Rare Earths Limited (IRE) in the presence of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, to commercially extract and market coastal mineral resources. The MoU stated that there are about 52 million tonnes of beach sand in the southern region of Tamil Nadu. 
With this, two mineral processing plants will be set up at Kuthiraimozhi and Sathankulam in Thoothukudi district, each with an investment of ₹1,500 crore. Each plant is expected to generate ₹1,075 crore annually, contributing to significant economic development in the region and providing direct and indirect employment to around 4,000 people. This brings to mind the Tata Group’s attempt in 2007 to set up a titanium dioxide plant on 12,000 acres of land in the Sathankulam region to loot beach sand, a plan they had to abandon due to strong public opposition.
Recently, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas called for bids under the Hydrocarbon Exploration & Licensing Policy (HELP) to extract oil and gas from the sea. The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) issued the 9th round of Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) auctions across 28 regions, covering an area of 1,36,596 square kilometers.
In Tamil Nadu, there are three offshore blocks near Kanyakumari and one near Chennai:
1. CY - UDWHP-2022/1 -  9514.63 sq. km (Kumari)
2. CY - UDWHP-2022/2 -  9844.72 sq. km (Kumari)
3. CY - UDWHP-2022/3 -  7795.45 sq. km (Kumari)
4. CY - UDWHP-2023/1 -  5330.49 sq. km (Chennai) 
A total of 32,485.29 square kilometers have been auctioned for oil and gas extraction. On January 3, 2024, an international tender was issued to establish exploration and production wells in these areas, with the deadline extended to September 21.
ONGC and Vedanta are attempting to capture these four deep-sea blocks. Among these blocks, there is a "wadge bank" in the deep sea between the Kumari blocks. The Wadge Bank, one of the few such underwater banks globally, is situated in the southwestern part of Kanyakumari district, covering about 10,000 square kilometers. This underwater bank is considered one of India's richest fishery resources.
Since there are no strong currents, waves, or floods in this region, it produces food essential for marine life. Over 200 species of fish and more than 60 other marine species live in this area, making it a vital breeding ground for fish and other marine creatures.
This area is a livelihood source for millions of fishermen from the southern states and serves as a food basket for millions of people. Extracting oil and gas here would completely destroy the marine ecosystem, plunging fishing families into poverty and hunger. Likewise, oil extraction activities and the pollution they cause would entirely ruin the marine environment. This would jeopardize the food and nutritional security of millions of Indians.
Priority is being given to mineral extraction and western development theories, and corporate profits are taking precedence over the Indian people. As governments and big corporates help each other through their illicit ties, people who question this exploitation are labeled as enemies of India's growth, traitors, foreign agents, Naxalites, or Maoists.
We need to extract all the resources required for our survival from this land. However, should we collect the golden eggs from the goose one by one and share them with everyone, or should we succumb to corporate greed and kill the goose, losing everything?
Responsible actions are needed in development policies and projects. Sustainability is essential in mineral extraction. The environmental and social impacts of mineral extraction, processing, and use must be taken into account. Above all, if people affected by mineral extraction projects oppose them, these projects should be entirely abandoned.
---
*People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), Nagercoil

Comments

TRENDING

Adani coalmine delayed? Australian senate fails to pass crucial "reform" amendment for project's financial closure

Adanis' Mundra power plant, controversial in Australia By  A  Representative In what is being described as a new “new hurdle”, the proposed Adani coalmine in the Queensland state of in Australia failed to get the crucial Australian Parliamentary nod, essential for financial closure for one of the biggest coalmining projects in the world. The government lost the Senate vote 35-33, meaning the legislation won't pass until the Senate returns in mid-June.

Paul Newman wasn't just remarkably talented, he was anti-war activist, disdained Hollywood excesses

By Harsh Thakor*  On January 26th of this year, we celebrated the birth centenary of Paul Newman, one of the finest actors of his era. His passing on September 26, 2008, after a prolonged battle with lung cancer, was met with an outpouring of tributes and remembrances from artists across the film industry, all sharing their thoughts and memories of the legendary actor.  

Aurangzeb’s last will recorded by his Maulvi: Allah shouldn't make anyone emperor

By Mohan Guruswamy  Aurangzeb’s grave is a simple slab open to the sky lying along the roadside at Khuldabad near Aurangabad. I once stopped by to marvel at the tomb of an Emperor of India whose empire was as large as Ashoka the Great's. It was only post 1857 when Victoria's domain exceeded this. The epitaph reads: "Az tila o nuqreh gar saazand gumbad aghniyaa! Bar mazaar e ghareebaan gumbad e gardun bas ast." (The rich may well construct domes of gold and silver on their graves. For the poor folks like me, the sky is enough to shelter my grave) The modest tomb of Aurangzeb is perhaps the least recognised legacies of the Mughal Emperor who ruled the land for fifty eventful years. He was not a builder having expended his long tenure in war and conquest. Towards the end of his reign and life, he realised the futility of it all. He wrote: "Allah should not make anyone an emperor. The most unfortunate person is he who becomes one." Aurangzeb’s last will was re...

Health expert Dr Amitav Banerjee on commercialization of healthcare and neglect of natural immunity

By AK Shiburaj  In an interview with me, eminent health expert Dr. Amitav Banerjee has examined the impact of privatization on the healthcare sector, the implications of the World Health Organization (WHO) becoming a commercially driven entity, and the consequences of a pharmaceutical industry prioritizing profit over public health. He argues that an approach ignoring the importance of natural immunity fosters a drug-centric system that undermines the benefits of modern medicine.

Beyond his riding skill, Karl Umrigar was admired for his radiance, sportsmanship, and affability

By Harsh Thakor*  Karl Umrigar's name remains etched in the annals of Indian horse racing, a testament to a talent tragically cut short. An accident on the racetrack at the tender age of nineteen robbed India of a rider on the cusp of greatness. Had he survived, there's little doubt he would have ascended to international stature, possibly becoming the greatest Indian jockey ever. Even 46 years after his death, his name shines brightly, reminiscent of an inextinguishable star. His cousin, Pesi Shroff, himself blossomed into one of the most celebrated jockeys in Indian horse racing.

Haven't done a good deed, inner soul is cursing me as sinner: Aurangzeb's last 'will'

Counterview Desk The Tomb of Aurangzeb, the last of the strong Mughal emperors, located in Khuldabad, Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, has this epitaph inscribed on it: "Az tila o nuqreh gar saazand gumbad aghniyaa! Bar mazaar e maa ghareebaan gumbad e gardun bas ast" (the rich may well construct domes of gold and silver on their graves. For the poor folks like me, the sky is enough to shelter my grave).

Hyderabad seminar rekindles memories of the spark lit 50 years ago by students

By Harsh Thakor*  History is something we constantly remember and reflect upon, but certain moments and events bring it back to our memory in a special way. For the Telugu people, and Telangana in particular, the memorial seminar held on February 20–21 was a significant occasion to recall the glorious events, transformations, leaders, and heroes of past struggles. Thousands of students rewrote the history of people's movements in Andhra Pradesh, carrying revolutionary zeal and the spirit of self-sacrifice to levels comparable to the Russian and Chinese Revolutions.

Trust, we (from People to PM and President) did not take a Holy Dip in some Holy Shit!

By Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava  I could see two deeply interlinked aspects between human and water in #MahaKumbh2025. Firstly, the HOPE that a ‘holy dip’ in the River Ganga (colloquially referred as dubki and spiritually as ‘Snan’) will cleanse oneself (especially the sins); and secondly, the TRUST that the water is pure to perform the cleansing alias living the hope. Well, I consider hope to be self-dependent while, trust is a multi-party dependent situation. The focus here is on the trust and I shall write later on hope.

Vadodara citizens urge authorities to adhere to environmental mandates in Vishwamitri River Rejuvenation Project

By A Representative   A coalition of environmental activists, ecologists, and urban planners in Vadodara has issued an urgent appeal to state and municipal authorities, demanding strict compliance with court-mandated guidelines for the upcoming Vishwamitri River rejuvenation project. Scheduled to commence in March 2025, the initiative aims to mitigate flooding and restore the river, but citizens warn that current plans risk violating National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders and jeopardizing the river’s fragile ecosystem, home to endangered species like crocodiles and Indian Softshell Turtles.  

Buddhist communities in Michigan protest for Mahabodhi Temple’s return to Buddhist control

By A Representative   Buddhist communities in Michigan have staged protests demanding the return of the Mahabodhi Vihara in Gaya, Bihar, India, to full Buddhist control. The Mahabodhi Temple, regarded as the holiest pilgrimage site in Buddhism, is currently managed under the Bodhgaya Temple Act of 1949, which grants a majority of control to non-Buddhists.