Raipur/ Bengaluru, 27th October 2023 — Deccan Gold Mines Limited (DGML), India’s only listed gold exploration and mining company (Scrip Code: DECNGOLD | 512068 | INE945F01025), has received ‘Letter of Intent’ dated October 5, 2023 (received on October 26, 2023) for the Bhalukona — Jamnidih Nickel, Chromium and Associated PGE Block in Chhattisgarh from the Directorate of Geology & Mining, Government of Chhattisgarh.
“The Letter of Intent (LoI) marks our evolution as a high impact, national partner, dedicated towards making India self-sufficient and secure, in its need for Critical Minerals & Rare Earth Elements. The nation’s prolific Critical Minerals (CM) reserves can potentially galvanize its energy transition and net zero goals in the years to come, and more importantly ensure bottom-up economic development, and enhance jobs creation, thus bringing into reality the Government’s vision of a future ready India”, said Mr. Hanuma Prasad Modali, Managing Director, Deccan Gold Mines Limited.
It may be pertinent to note that Government of India is giving significant thrust to exploration and mining of Critical Minerals that are essential to meet India’s Green Energy Transition targets.
The Company will now take steps to comply with the terms and conditions of the Letter of Intent which will facilitate the execution of Composite License for the Bhalukona — Jamnidih Nickel, Chromium and Associated PGE Block in Chhattisgarh.
The Company had earlier submitted its Technical Bid and participated in the e-auction held on March 6, 2023 for the captioned Block.
On May 22, 2023 the Company had received an official intimation from the Government of Chhattisgarh that the Company has been selected as the “Preferred Bidder” on the basis of the e-auction and had furnished Performance Security for an amount of Rs. 1,50,00,000/- (Rupee one crore and fifty lakhs only) vide Bank Guarantee dated May 25, 2023 in favour of Directorate of Geology and Mining, Government of Chhattisgarh.
The Bhalukona-Jamnidih Block covers an area of 30 sq. Kms and forms part of Neo-archean Sonakhan Schist Belt in the NE fringe of Bastar Craton and represents a wide spectrum of volcano-volcanoclastic rocks of Sonakhan and Bilari Group, mafic-ultramafic intrusives, undeformed granitoids, younger dykes and quartz veins.
Based on preliminary sampling by Geological Survey of India (GSI), a 400 m long potential mineralized zone has been delineated for the block.
The Government of India had approved royalty rates for mining Lithium, Niobium and Rare Earth Elements on October 11, 2023. The move ensued after the Government’s identification of 30 critical minerals deemed essential for the country’s ‘self-reliance’.