Ministry of Mines Notifies Amendments to the Mineral Concession Rules, Paving Way for Inclusion of Contiguous Area and Associated Minerals in the Mining Lease

• Ministry of Mines notified the Minerals (Other than Atomic and Hydro Carbons Energy Minerals) Concession (Second Amendment) Rules, 2026 on 30 March 2026 to operationalise the MMDR Amendment Act, 2025.
• Allows one-time inclusion of contiguous area in mining leases (ML) and composite licences (CL) of deep-seated minerals, and inclusion of associated minerals (including minor minerals) in existing leases.
• Targets ease of doing business, faster scale-up of critical, strategic and deep-seated minerals central to India's energy transition and Atmanirbhar Bharat in critical minerals.