IIT Hyderabad to take up critical mineral exploration in Rajasthan

The Rajasthan government has signed an Rs 8.5 crore MoU with IIT Hyderabad during Pravasi Rajasthani Divas 2025 to develop AI- and ML-based predictive systems for identifying critical minerals. Executed in four phases over 18 months, the project aims to strengthen Rajasthan’s mineral intelligence and position India as a leader in exploration technologies.

Sangareddy: The Rajasthan government has signed a Rs 8.5 crore memorandum of understanding with the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H) during the Pravasi Rajasthani Divas-2025 held at the Jaipur Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The agreement, finalised in the presence of Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, Union Minister of Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy and IITH Director Prof B S Murty aims to develop an AI- and ML-driven predictive system for identifying critical and strategic minerals across the State.

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The partnership positions Rajasthan among the first States in India to deploy advanced computational geoscience tools for mineral intelligence and exploration planning, according to a press release.

Under this collaboration, IIT-H will build a comprehensive prediction model that integrates geological, geochemical, geophysical and multispectral satellite datasets from 39 districts to generate AI-based mineral prospectivity maps.

The system will help identify potential zones for minerals such as lithium, copper, graphite, zinc, nickel, cobalt, rare earth elements and other critical resources, supporting the state’s long-term mineral development strategy.

The project will be executed in four phases over a period of 18 months, with district-wise analytics, data dashboards and decision-support tools delivered to the Rajasthan State Mineral Exploration Trust, the release said.

Welcoming the partnership, Prof Murty said the collaboration would bring IIT-H into the mainstream of India’s critical mineral and resource intelligence mission. By combining advanced AI/ML techniques with geoscience, he said they are creating tools that will help India become a global leader in exploration technologies.