- Block in Gaya district rich in platinum, palladium, nickel, chromium
- Diversified miner expanding critical minerals, REE production capacity
Vedanta Resources has been selected as the ‘successful bidder’ by the Ministry of Mines (MoM) for a nickel, chromium and PGE (platinum group elements) block in Gaya district of Bihar, according to a recent stock exchange filing by the company.
The block in the villages of Genjana and Lakrahi in Gaya was auctioned by the MoM under the third tranche of critical minerals. Explored by Geological Survey of India (GSI), at a G4 level or reconnaissance level, the blocks show platinum and palladium of 668 parts per billion (ppb), 309 ppb and 260 ppb values. The bedrock samples from the same body also yielded chromium content from 1619 (parts per million)) ppm to 3119 ppm, and nickel content from 629 ppm to 1518 ppm.
Critical minerals
The critical minerals, nickel and platinum group elements, are used in hydrogen electrolysers which are essential for green hydrogen production. Chromium has applications in low-carbon technologies, specifically as a critical mineral used in generation of wind energy, while nickel is a critical mineral with applications in electric-vehicle batteries, solar photovoltaic, wind and electrolyser technologies.
The aluminium, iron ore, zinc and copper producer is positioned to play an important role in India’s Critical Mineral Mission. In October, Vedanta shared its strategy announcing that of the 34 critical minerals allocated thus far (of 55 auctioned thus far) the group had secured 10, covering cobalt, rare earth elements (REEs), vanadium, graphite, and potash.
Vedanta has been declared the preferred bidder for:
- Depo vanadium and graphite block in Papumpare district of Arunachal Pradesh
- Sanyasikoppa cobalt, manganese and iron block in Shimoga district of Karnataka
- Gollarahatti-Mallenahalli nickel, chromium, and PGE block in Karnataka
- Thanewasna copper deposit in Chandrapur in Maharashtra — won in 2019, before India announced its list of strategic minerals **
- Ghanpur Mudholi (West) copper and gold block in Maharashtra — won in 2022, again before India released its list of strategic minerals
- Kelwardabri in Chhattisgarh, the first nickel-chromium-PGE block that Vedanta had acquired rights to in 2023
Vedanta’s subsidiary company Hindustan Zinc has bagged rights to:
- Balepalyam tungsten and associated mineral block in Anantapur of Andra Pradesh
- Nayakkarpatti tungsten block in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu
- Jhandawali – Satipura amalgamated potash and halite block in Hanumangarh, of Rajasthan
- Nawatola-Laband REE block (UP)
** Correction – Three more deposits were added in the preferred bidder section
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