Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the event, he said bids for setting up lithium and nickel processing units would be invited within the next three months.
“We are confident of operationalising 50 to 60 greenfield mines in this current year,” Goyal said, adding that 58 greenfield mines have been operationalised since the auction regime began in 2015.
The secretary said policies for the extraction of critical minerals have already been put in place.
“We are implementing the same and getting excellent results,” he said, adding that significant quantities of cadmium are now being recovered and recycled in the country.
Goyal said the target of 1,200 exploration projects by 2031 would be achieved ahead of schedule.
“About 571 exploration projects have been completed by Geological Survey of India (GSI), 300 more are waiting to be completed this year. We hope to target more than 2,000 projects by 2031,” he said.
Against a target of 100 exploration blocks for the private sector by 2031, 56 have already been auctioned. The government expects the number to exceed 200 by the end of the period.