NLC India has said it is in the process of participating in the upcoming auctions of critical mineral resources and aims to achieve the annual capacity of mining one million tonnes of such materials by 2029-30.

NLC India's core business include mining of coal and lignite as well as power generation.

Having critical mineral capacity assumes significance amid increasing demand of these resources for a wide range of activities from semiconductor manufacturing to renewable energy projects, including those related to production of solar panels, wind turbines and advanced batteries for storage and transportation.

"With the recent developments in renewable energy sector and the strategic importance of the critical minerals required for RE (renewable energy), we are in the process of participating in upcoming auctions and envision achieving a critical mineral mining capacity of 1.0 MTPA by 2029-30," the company said in its recent report.

The company had earlier said that once it gets expertise in mining critical minerals in the domestic market, it will also explore the possibility overseas.

According to NLC India, the public sector enterprise has been into mining operations since 1967, and therefore it wants to utilise its core competence in the critical mineral sector.