New Delhi: Oil India Limited (OIL) and Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) have entered into a memorandum of understanding to work together on the exploration and development of critical and strategic minerals, including copper. The collaboration is part of India’s National Critical Minerals Mission, aimed at building resource security and diversifying supply chains.
The agreement, signed on September 19, reflects OIL’s move beyond its conventional oil and gas portfolio into the growing critical minerals sector, which is increasingly important for energy needs and technology development.
HCL, a Miniratna public sector company under the Ministry of Mines, is involved in mining, production and marketing of copper. Its current operations include mining and beneficiation of copper ore and the sale of copper concentrate. OIL, a Maharatna PSU under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has decades of experience in exploration, development and transportation of crude oil and natural gas, and has recently started investing in the minerals sector.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Ranjit Rath, Chairman and Managing Director of OIL, and Sanjiv Kumar Singh, CMD of HCL, along with senior officials of both companies.
As of 2:42 pm on Friday, OIL shares were trading at ₹402.55 on the NSE, up 0.85 per cent.
The collaboration comes shortly after the Union Cabinet approved a ₹1,500 crore scheme to encourage recycling of critical minerals from secondary sources under the National Critical Minerals Mission. The scheme, which will run from FY2025-26 to FY2030-31, is designed to build domestic recycling capacity for materials such as e-waste, lithium-ion battery scrap and catalytic converters from end-of-life vehicles.
The plan offers a 20 per cent capital subsidy on plant, machinery, equipment and associated utilities for projects that start production within a set timeframe. Operating expenditure incentives will be linked to incremental sales over FY2025-26 levels, with 40 per cent of eligible support provided in the second year and 60 per cent in the fifth year. Subsidy limits are capped at ₹50 crore for large entities and ₹25 crore for smaller ones.
The government expects the scheme to create 270 kilo tonnes of recycling capacity, yielding 40 kilo tonnes of minerals annually, attracting around ₹8,000 crore of investment and creating nearly 70,000 jobs. The framework was finalised after consultations with industry stakeholders.
BI Bureau
