The proposed law seeks to give mining leaseholders greater flexibility to add minerals to existing leases and expand exploration funding.
It also proposes removing the 50% sale cap on minerals from captive mines and creating a regulated mineral exchange framework.
Highlights
- The MMDR Amendment Bill, 2026 has been introduced in the Lok Sabha.
- Mining leaseholders may be allowed to add more minerals to existing leases.
- No additional payment is proposed for adding specified critical minerals such as lithium, graphite, nickel and cobalt.
- The Bill seeks to remove the existing 50% limit on sale of minerals from captive mines.
- The National Mineral Exploration Trust may be expanded to fund mine and mineral development as well.
- A new regulatory framework is proposed for electronic mineral exchanges.
The government has introduced the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha, proposing a series of reforms aimed at boosting mineral exploration, improving mining flexibility and strengthening the development of critical and strategic minerals.
The Bill seeks to amend the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. One of its major proposals is to allow holders of an existing mining lease to apply to the state government for inclusion of additional minerals in the same lease.
For specified critical and strategic minerals such as lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, gold and silver, the leaseholder would not be required to pay an additional amount for their inclusion. For other minerals, an amount equivalent to the applicable royalty would have to be paid.
In the case of auctioned mines, the leaseholder would also have to pay the auction premium applicable to the newly included mineral.
The Bill also proposes allowing minor minerals to be included in mining leases issued for major minerals, with state governments determining the applicable royalty and other payments. However, atomic minerals above a specified grade cannot be included in leases granted for non-atomic minerals.
Another major proposal concerns the National Mineral Exploration Trust. Its role could be expanded beyond financing exploration to also funding the development of mines and minerals. It would be renamed the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust.
The proposed law also seeks to remove the existing ceiling on the sale of minerals produced from captive mines. Currently, captive mines are allowed to sell up to 50% of their annual production after meeting their own end-use requirements.
For deep-seated minerals occurring more than 200 metres below the surface, the Bill proposes a one-time expansion of the leased area. The area may be increased by up to 30% for composite licences and up to 10% for mining leases.
The Bill also proposes establishing an authority to register and regulate mineral exchanges, which would operate as electronic platforms for trading minerals and metals.
The proposed reforms are aimed at expanding India’s mineral resource base, encouraging exploration and development of critical minerals and providing greater flexibility in the mining sector.
