Recently, the Ministry of Mines has issued the guidelines for setting up of Centres of Excellence (CoE) under the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM).

What are CoEs?

• Centres of Excellence (CoEs) are designated research centres under NCMM.
• Objectives of CoEsFocus on identification, extraction, and beneficiation technologies for critical minerals from:
  • • Primary resources (natural deposits)
    • Secondary resources (recycling/recovery)
  • Develop technologies up to Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 7 & 8 (pilot plant & pre-commercial demonstration).
  • Promote interdisciplinary research and competency building. 

About National Critical Mineral Mission

• Announced in Union Budget 2024-25
• Objective: To secure India’s critical mineral supply chain by ensuring mineral availability from domestic and foreign sources. 
  • Strengthening the value chains by enhancing technological, regulatory, and financial ecosystems to foster innovation, skill development, and global competitiveness in mineral exploration, mining, beneficiation, processing, and recycling.
• Duration: FY 2024-25 to FY 2030-31.
• Ministry: Ministry of Mines

Key Features of NCMM

• Scope: Covers entire value chain—exploration, mining, beneficiation, processing, and recovery from end-of-life products.
• Exploration: Intensified exploration within India and offshore areas.
• Regulatory Process: Fast-track approval for critical mineral mining projects.
• Financial Incentives: Provided for exploration and recovery from overburden and tailings.

About Critical Minerals

• Definition: These are the minerals which are essential for economic development and national security but the scarcity and limitation of its geographical availability leading to supply chain vulnerability and disruption constitute its criticality.
• Major Critical Minerals: The Report of the Committee on Identification of Critical Minerals constituted by the Ministry of Mines has identified 30 critical minerals.