Jaipur: The Rajasthan govt has amended its mining rules to allow holders of major mineral mining leases to include minor minerals found in their leased areas in the same mining lease.The Mines and Petroleum Department issued a notification Wednesday introducing the Rajasthan Minor Mineral Concession (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026. The new rules will come into effect from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.A senior official said , “Under the new provision, if a major mineral leaseholder discovers a minor mineral in the leased area, they will have to inform the concerned mining engineer or assistant mining engineer within 30 days. They will not be allowed to extract or sell the newly discovered mineral until it is formally added to their mining lease.”The leaseholder can apply online to include the mineral in the lease. The mining engineer or assistant mining engineer will process the application and send it to the Directorate within one month. “The Directorate will then consult the Indian Bureau of Mines and forward the proposal to the state govt within another month,” added an official.The govt will have to take a decision within 30 days of receiving the proposal. It can also ask the applicant for additional documents or clarification. The govt can reject the request, but it will have to record the reasons in writing.A source said, the inclusion of the minor mineral will come with additional financial liabilities. The leaseholder will have to pay dead rent at the higher applicable rate for the major or minor mineral.“A one-time premium equal to twice the applicable dead rent, along with royalty and contributions to the District Mineral Foundation Trust and Rajasthan State Mineral Exploration Trust, will also have to be paid. The rules also clarify that this one-time premium cannot later be adjusted against royalty or dead rent,” said the source.
