Chhattisgarh’s mineral diversity is the basis of the country’s economic prosperity – Mineral Secretary P. Dayanand

Detailed discussion on various aspects including technology on exploitation of strategic and tactical minerals in Chhattisgarh

Possibility of speeding up investment and industrial development

Raipur 25 June 2025: Under the guidance of Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai, a one-day state level workshop was organized in the convention hall of New Circuit House in the capital Raipur regarding systematic exploration and exploitation of minerals of strategic and tactical importance available in Chhattisgarh. Addressing the inaugural session of the workshop, Secretary to the Chief Minister and Secretary of Mineral Resources Department P. Dayanand said that Chhattisgarh is a rich state full of mineral wealth, where 28 types of major minerals like coal, limestone, dolomite, iron ore, bauxite, tin ore as well as minerals of strategic and nuclear importance like lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements are available in abundance. He informed that this workshop has been organized with the aim of giving more impetus to the efforts being conducted under the National Program on Exploration Strategy and National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET). Its objective is to ensure active participation of national exploration agencies and take concrete steps towards speedy implementation of strategic mineral projects in the state. This workshop was jointly organized by the Department of Mineral Resources and Chhattisgarh Geology and Mining Directorate. Its objective was to encourage scientific exploration techniques for proper exploitation of India’s critical minerals potential, technically strengthen the proposal submission system and ensure effective participation of the state in national level strategic exploration policies.

In the technical sessions of the workshop, Ravikant Gupta of Geological Survey of India elaborated on the geological features of Chhattisgarh and the possibilities of OGP areas. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar of Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Limited gave a presentation based on modern geophysical and geochemical techniques for exploration of minerals like lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel, tungsten, phosphate, which made the officials aware of the latest methods. Akshay Verma from NMET shared information on the proposal preparation process, financial assistance and grant policies, underlined the opportunities available under NMET and emphasized the need for more active participation of the state. Emphasis on Chhattisgarh’s role in global mineral supply chain Experts at the workshop said that Chhattisgarh’s mineral diversity and quality can make it an important link in the global mineral supply chain. They suggested that the state can lead mineral-based industrial development by establishing a balance between mineral production, market demand and future prospects.

In the closing session, the mineral surveys done so far in the state, their findings and proposed projects were reviewed. The officials stressed on the need to further strengthen technical efficiency and inter-departmental coordination. Senior officials of the Directorate of Geology and Mining said that mineral resources are the basic foundation of the economic progress of any state. The workshop made it clear that by adopting transparent, technically competent and timely processes, Chhattisgarh can not only attract private and public investment, but can also play a leading role in the National Strategic Mineral Policy. All the participants stressed on the need for joint efforts and long-term strategic approach for mineral-based sustainable industrial development. On this occasion, Prof. of IIT Dhanbad participated in the workshop. Sahendra Singh, Prem Prakash of IBM, Director Rajat Bansal, Joint Directors Anurag Dewan and Sanjay Kankane along with various central and state level agencies, research institutes, policy advisors and technical experts participated.