Govt plans critical mineral value processing parks in Odisha, Gujarat, Maha, Andhra

The government has identified Odisha, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra for its plan to set up four critical mineral value processing parks, a senior government official said on Tuesday. It is extremely important to establish a processing value chain for critical minerals, Mines Secretary Piyush Goyal said, adding that without such ecosystem, it is difficult to utilise a critical mineral. ''Without a processing value chain for critical minerals even if we are able to source critical minerals whether domestically or from abroad we are not in a position to utilise them and they (the mineral) get exported,'' Goyal said, addressing a seminar on Developing the Critical Minerals Value Chain for a Sustainable Future. An allocation of Rs 500 crore was made in National Critical Mineral Mission to establish four processing parks across the country, the official said. ''I am happy to share that we have finalised the location of these parks and in the meeting on April 22, with the offices of the state governments of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Odisha. We have reviewed the process, and hopefully, very soon we will have this processing parks set up in these states, which will cater to development of processing value chains for many of the critical minerals,'' Goyal said. Establishing processing value chain critical minerals will help expand the capacity for these minerals, which are very much needed for the industry, he noted. Later speaking to reporters, Goyal said these states have been identified as they have port access. When asked about timeline for the projects, he said, ''I am very optimistic that by this year-end we will significant progress in this regard''. He also informed that there was a meeting between primary and secondary aluminium industry players, who have shared several inputs listing their respective concerns.

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