The Union government is stepping up efforts to secure strategic mineral assets abroad by deepening partnerships with resource-rich nations, coal and mines minister G. Kishan Reddy said on Sunday.

Speaking virtually at the 59th foundation day of Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL), Reddy said the Centre had already taken policy measures in this direction through the recent amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.

“We are empowering Indian PSUs and the private sector to secure strategic mineral assets abroad and to strengthen partnerships with rich resource nations. We have expanded the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) mandate to overseas projects as a way to provide financial impetus to the companies,” Reddy said. NMET is a not-for-profit body operating under the Union ministry of mines with an objective to promote mineral exploration.

In August this year, the mines ministry through the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2025, has expanded the NMET name to the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust and widened the objective to use the funds accrued to the trust within India, including the offshore areas, and outside India for regional and detailed exploration and development of mines and minerals.

The amendment has also raised the contribution by lessees from 2 per cent to 3 per cent of royalty, which is expected to significantly bolster the trust’s corpus.

At present, the NMET receives around ₹1,000 crore annually and holds a corpus of about ₹3,500 crore in the public account of India.

The higher contribution rate is projected to add another ₹2,500 crore over the next five years.

Reddy said India has signed bilateral agreements with several mineral-rich countries, including Australia, Argentina, Zambia and Chile, to facilitate overseas exploration and mining activities.

Coal output

Sanoj Kumar Jha, additional secretary in the coal ministry and holding additional charge as the CMD of Coal India, said coal demand, particularly from the power sector, has been subdued so far this fiscal, affecting production.

Coal India produced 385.5 million tonnes of coal between April and October 2025, a 4.5 per cent decline from the same period last year.

Jha, however, remained confident that the state-run miner would meet the requirements of its key consumers.

“We would be able to produce whatever is required for the power sector and by other sectors, and we would have more stocks at the end of the year than what we had last time,” Jha said on the sidelines of HCL’s foundation day event in Calcutta. As of April 2025, Coal India held 105 million tonnes of coal stock, up 22.1 per cent from the previous year.