Bhubaneswar: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (CSIR-IMMT), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NTPC Mining Ltd (A wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC Limited), to pursue research initiatives of direct interest and relevance to coal, mineral processing and extraction industry, including critical minerals.
The MoU was signed by Dr. Ramanuj Narayan, Director, CSIR-IMMT and Naveen Jain, CEO, NTPC Mining, co-ordinated by Dr. Kali Sanjay, Head, Hydro, Bio & Electrometallurgy Dept. & Business Development from CSIR-IMMT, and Dhananjay Shrikhande, General Manager (Technical Services & Commercial) and Anil Kumar Soni, Addl. General Manager (Technical Services & Business Development) from NTPC Mining.
NTPC Mining has emerged as a key contributor to India’s energy security, supplying nearly 15% of NTPC’s coal requirement in FY 2024-25, with over 134 million tonnes of coal produced since its inception in 2018. As the nation accelerates its shift towards clean energy, the company is now diversifying into the exploration and development of critical minerals, tapping into both domestic and international resources to support the vision of AtmaNirbhar Bharat.
In line with the National Critical Minerals Mission, which encourages active participation of public sector undertakings in the critical minerals value chain, NTPC Mining has initiated concrete steps to contribute to this national priority. The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the CSIR-IMMT reflects NTPC Mining’s commitment to innovation-led sustainable growth. CSIR-IMMT brings decades of experience in critical minerals research and technology commercialization, delivering advanced solutions to the mining and materials sectors.
With advanced infrastructure, pilot-scale facilities, and decades of expertise in mineral processing and extractive metallurgy, CSIR-IMMT is well- positioned to serve as a national hub for critical minerals research. The institute is currently leading several mission-mode programs focused on rare earth elements (REEs), low-grade ore beneficiation and recycling, lithium recovery, and deep-sea mineral processing. The Institute has successfully developed and demonstrated technologies for the recovery of cobalt, nickel, tellurium, selenium, and REEs from both primary and secondary sources, several of which have already been transferred for commercial application. The Institute is further enhancing the capabilities through dedicated pilot plants for REE separation and molten salt electrolysis to enable integrated processing.
