National Mineral Policy 2006 - Department of Mines

POLICY ON BEACH SAND MINERALS• As DAE has delisted ilmenite, rutile, and leucoxene as Prescribed Substances theseminerals would have to be deleted from Part B of the First Schedule. However, inview of the potential of titanium becoming a metal of the future, these mineralsshould be treated to be minerals of national importance and put in Part C of the FirstSchedule. [7.76]• Ilmenite, rutile, and leucoxene should be subject to the general mining regimewhereby preference may be given to value adders in the grant of PL/ML, whereapplicants are willing to set up industry based on ilmenite, but in the absence of suchapplicants such licences, such licences should be freely granted on the basis of theprovisions of the MMDR Act, particularly Section 11 thereof. [7.81]• Like other minerals, mining of ilmenite should be guided by the framework that thisCommittee has proposed, which envisages that while preference may be given tovalue adders among multiple applicants for PL/ML, such licences must not be deniedon the ground that there are no applicants proposing to set up an industry based on themineral. India’s reserves of ilmenite are very large and the country should not bedeprived of the gains to be made in terms of employment and foreign exchangeearnings while waiting for an entrepreneur to turn up who may be willing to set up anindustry in the country based on the mineral. [7.81]• If ilmenite mining is to be permitted without imposing a condition for value addition acorollary is that exports would have to be freely permitted. However, in view of thefact that some deposits of Indian ilmenite are unique in being of much higher gradethat what is available in the rest of the world the Committee would propose the levyof export duty on high grade ilmenite (with titanium dioxide content of 56 per centand above). A part of the collections from the levy could be used for promoting R&Dactivities on titanium and minerals bearing the metal. [7.84]• AMD certification of export consignments of ilmenite may not be insisted upon as itis not justified on economic considerations. It could be continued as a charged serviceto be availed of on a voluntary basis. [7.85]219