Rajasthan, which is the richest state in the country in terms of availability and variety of minerals, produces 30 different minerals, leading as the sole producer of lead, zinc ores, calcite, selenite, and wollastonite. Almost the entire production of calcite and natural gypsum in the country comes from Rajasthan. The state earned Rs 4234 crore from various mining licenses till January 2022 and hopes to collect a record total of Rs 6000 crore by way of revenue from mines and quarries. The state is a major producer of asbestos, copper conc., ochre, phosphorite/rock phosphate, silver, steatite, ball clay, fluorite and felspar. It is also an important producer of marble of various shades. Makrana area is a world-famous centre for marble mining. More than 85% of the country’s potash, wollastonite, lead and zinc and silver resources are located in Rajasthan. The state is said to possess a substantial share of the total resources of potash (94%), lead & zinc ore (89%), wollastonite (88%), silver (81%), gypsum (82%), fuller’s earth (74%), diatomite (72%), marble (64%), asbestos (62%), copper ore (50%) and rock phosphate (30%).The Ashok Gehlot government in its state budget has taken some important decisions that would give the state mining sector a much-needed booster dose. One major decision taken by the Gehlot government is to extend the mining and quarry licenses that were to end on March 31, 2025, to March 31, 2040. The second important decision taken was the abolition of the limitation of the mining area which was restricted to just four acres. Now a mining licensee would be able to mine in bigger areas. The pre-condition of procuring environmental clearances for mining that was earlier required before obtaining the mining license has been abolished. Now, a bidder for a mining license could go for the bid process and then obtain environmental clearances.
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