Dy CM Bhatti urges SCCL to diversify into rare earth mining

Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka urged SCCL to diversify into rare earth and critical minerals mining, stressing the need for corporate-style planning and global expansion to secure the company’s future beyond coal.

Kothagudem: Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka directed the SCCL officials to focus on expanding into rare earth minerals mining to sustain the company’s future.

He held a review meeting with Energy department special chief secretary Naveen Mittal, district Collector Ankit, SCCL CMD Jyothi Buddha Prakash, TSGENCO CMD Dr. S Harish and other senior officials here on Friday.

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Singareni needs to be strengthened in tune with the times. Officials should adopt a corporate-style approach by setting clear timelines and implementing a structured calendar to achieve strategic goals within defined deadlines, Vikramarka said.

The energy landscape would change dramatically over the next 15–20 years with the growing adoption of solar power, pumped storage, wind energy, hydrogen and rare earth-based battery storage technologies. It could reduce dependence on thermal power and coal.

Therefore, Singareni must strategically diversify into alternative sectors. The company board meetings in future should not be confined to administrative matters alone but focus on expansion strategy and a comprehensive 10-year roadmap.

The company should participate in auctions in countries such as Australia and South Africa, expanding into the mining of critical minerals such as lithium and cobalt, which were essential for semiconductor manufacturing, microchips, electric vehicle batteries, the Deputy Chief suggested.

Vikramarka later visited Manuguru opencast mine for a field inspection. The SCCL officials requested him to take the initiative to ensure that the PK opencast dip side block was allotted to Singareni.