The Ministry of Mines (MoM) on January 21, 2024, issued the Mineral Conservation and Development (Amendment) Rules, 2024 to further amend the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 2017.
The following has been amended namely: -
• Rule 4 which states “Scheme of reconnaissance or prospecting” sub-rule (1) has been substituted namely: -
“(1) Every holder of a reconnaissance permit or prospecting licence or the preferred bidder selected for grant of composite licence or exploration licence, shall submit to the Controller General or the authorised officer a scheme of reconnaissance or prospecting or both, as the case may be, within a period of ninety days from the date of execution of the permit or licence or issuance of letter of intent, indicating the manner in which he proposes to carry out the reconnaissance or prospecting operations or both in the area covered under the permit or licence.”
• Rule 5 which states “Modification of scheme of reconnaissance or prospecting” sub-rule (3) has been inserted namely: -
“In case of exploration licence, a modified scheme of reconnaissance or prospecting or both shall be submitted to the Controller General or the authorised officer after three years from the date of execution of the licence, indicating the manner in which the licencee proposes to continue the reconnaissance and prospecting operations in the area retained under the licence under sub-section (11) of section 10BA.”.
[Notification No. G.S.R. 51(E)]
