Ministry of Mines launches critical minerals innovation hackathon
This story was originally published at 21:41 IST on 25 August 2026
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NEW DELHI – Ministry of Mines Tuesday said the government had launched the critical minerals innovation hackathon 2026. The hackathon provides a platform for participants to showcase their ideas, receive expert mentorship, and contribute to building a secure and self-reliant critical minerals ecosystem in India, the ministry said in a press release.
The hackathon focusses on mineral prospectivity mapping from open data, which involves developing a prospectivity heatmap for lithium or rare earth elements pegmatites and validated against known mineral occurrences, as per the ministry. It also focusses on smart technology and patent tracker for critical minerals to create an intuitive, web-based smart research and development, and patent tracking system for critical minerals, the release said.
"The hackathon is aimed at strengthening the objectives of the National Critical Mineral Mission by encouraging students, researchers, academic and research and development institutions, start-ups, and innovators to develop innovative technical solutions to identify challenges in the critical minerals," the ministry said.
The hackathon will be organised and hosted by Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre in Nagpur, which is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Mines, as per the release. The last date for idea submission is Sept. 20, and the winners will be announced during India Mining Week 2026, which is scheduled from Nov. 15-Nov. 17, according to the ministry.
Two winning teams will be awarded prizes for each problem statement, with the first prize being of INR 150,000 and the second prize of INR 100,000, the ministry said. End
Reported by Astha Oriel
Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj
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