Union minister of coal, mines, and parliamentary affairs handed over letters of financial grants to five startups and MSMEs for funding Innovations in the Mining and Mineral sector, the Ministry of Mines said on Friday.

Along with financial grants, the select startups/MSMEs will be provided mentorship or incubation support and technical advisory support during the entire project period by a Facilitation & Mentorship Team under the Implementing Agency.

Recently, the Ministry of Mines enlarged the scope of the Science & Technology (S&T) programme by launching S&T-PRISM in November 2023 to fund research and innovation in startups and MSMEs working in the field of mining and mineral sector to bridge the gap between R&D and commercialisation as also to promote the ecosystem for the complete value chain in mining and mineral sector.

A total of 56 startups/MSME participated out of which 5 have been selected for funding a total of Rs 6 crore based on milestones.

Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Center, Nagpur, an autonomous body under the administrative control of the Ministry of Mines has been made the Implementing Agency for S&T – PRISM.

Under the scheme, the funds were granted to Ashvini Rare Earth, Pune, Maharashtra for Rs 1.5 crore for the establishment of a Pilot Plant for extraction of Neodymium – Praseodymium metal from Neodymium – Praseodymium oxide through Calcio-thermic reduction route for NdFeB Base Permanent Magnet Application.

Saru Smelting, Meerut, UP has been granted Rs 1.16 crore for Establishing a pilot scale plant for a Lithium ion-electro fusion reactor for alkali metals while the L N Indtech Services, Bhubaneswar, Odisha has been granted Rs 0.40 crore for Efficient and Sustainable Production of Alumina Hydrates by Electrolysis of Sodium Carbonate and Produce Hydrogen.

Cellark Powertech, Cuttack, Orissa has been granted Rs 1.7 crore for Setting up of Pilot scale production (25kg/Day) of high purity battery grade silicon material for lithium-ion battery anode.

Caliche Private Limited, Shillong, Meghalaya has been granted Rs 1.2 crore for the development of a software named GARBH for Exploration of Rare-Earth-Elements.