Vedanta Limited has commissioned a high-speed hydrostatic portable drilling rig for gold and critical mineral exploration in Chhattisgarh. The company said it is the first such portable rig deployed in India and is capable of drilling to depths of up to 1,000 metres.
The rigs have been deployed at two exploration projects targeting gold as well as critical minerals including nickel, chromium and platinum group elements (PGEs). Designed for difficult and inaccessible terrain, the portable equipment can drill significantly deeper than the typical 300–400 metre range cited by the company. Its portability also allows it to be moved between exploration locations, potentially reducing the time required for drilling campaigns.
Vedanta Expands Critical Mineral Exploration
Vedanta has secured 10 critical mineral blocks covering gold, manganese, copper, nickel-chromium-PGE, tungsten, graphite, vanadium, rare earth elements and potash. Exploration is currently underway across five blocks. The company has also been declared the successful bidder for the Punnam Manganese Block in Andhra Pradesh. The expansion comes as India seeks to increase domestic exploration and reduce its dependence on imported critical minerals. According to government estimates cited by Vedanta, nearly 80 per cent of India's mineral resources remain unexplored.
Critical minerals such as copper and nickel have applications across renewable energy, electric mobility, data centres, semiconductors, defence and advanced manufacturing. Developing domestic resources will require investment across exploration, mining, processing, refining and recycling.
Critical Mineral Demand Set To Rise
Global demand for critical minerals used in clean-energy technologies is projected to nearly triple by 2030 under the International Energy Agency's Net Zero Emissions Scenario and quadruple by 2040, reaching close to 40 million tonnes annually, according to data cited by the company.
Vedanta is expanding its critical-mineral portfolio alongside its existing metals and mining operations. The group has mineral assets across India, South Africa, Namibia, Liberia and Zambia and plans to expand exploration and value-added processing activities. The commissioning of the portable drilling rig is part of the company's effort to increase exploration capabilities as it develops recently acquired mineral blocks.