PANAJI
The Union Ministry of Mines has launched a Critical Mineral Assessment Programme (CMAP) in North Goa to explore vanadium, scandium and other important minerals found in the lateritic rocks of the Upse block. The goal is to identify potential zones of critical minerals that are essential for India’s growing clean energy and advanced technology industries.
According to the Ministry’s proposal, global demand for critical minerals like lithium, vanadium, scandium, cobalt and rare earth elements has risen sharply due to the shift towards renewable energy, electric vehicles and high-performance materials.
To meet this demand, the Ministry is focusing on lateritic deposits, which have shown good potential for containing secondary minerals.
“With the rising need for critical minerals, exploring secondary sources has become vital. Among these, lateritic deposits have drawn much interest as a possible source of minerals such as scandium, vanadium, cobalt and nickel,” the Ministry said.
The Upse block, part of the Dharwar Supergroup of the late Archean age, consists of meta-volcanic and meta-sedimentary rocks, granite, mafic-ultramafic complexes, metabasalt, laterite and coastal alluvium. Its geological structure largely matches the Goa Group, which is similar to Karnataka’s Chitradurga Group.
Under CMAP, the Ministry will carry out systematic sampling on a one-kilometre grid, along with 25 kilometres of traverse mapping, to study different types of laterite and identify geological formations linked to secondary mineralisation.
Around 150 metres of drilling will be done through two to three scout boreholes, depending on the mapping and sampling results.
Preliminary findings from the G4 stage have identified three key sub-blocks for further exploration: Dumase-Menkure Block, which has been selected for G3 exploration in 2025“26; and Bhenale-Cansorvornem Block and Alorna Block, which have been marked for future investigation.
An area of around 30 sq km in the southern part of the Alorna LSM block, near the Upse sector, has shown unusual levels of scandium, vanadium and nickel, making it a strong candidate for advanced exploration.
Earlier, the Ministry had also announced a plan to carry out thematic mapping and exploration of the Goa Schist Belt”part of the larger Shimoga-Goa supracrustal belt”to study the potential for gold, copper and other rare earth elements (REEs).
This study, which begins in the current financial year, will also map younger ultramafic and granitic rocks around Ponda and Quepem talukas.
