PROGRAMME SCHEDULE
DATE: 19.03.2026 (THURSDAY)
| REGISTRATION DESK OPEN | 08:00 AM – 09:00 AM | ||
| BREAKFAST | 08:30 AM – 09:00 AM | ||
| INAUGURAL SESSION | CHIEF GUEST: DIRECTOR, NCPOR GOA | SPECIAL GUEST OF HONOUR: DIRECTOR, CSIR-CIMFR DHANBAD | GUEST OF HONOUR: ED (EXPLORATION), CIL | 09:30 AM – 10:40 AM | ||
| PHOTO SESSION | 10:40 AM – 10:45 AM | ||
| TEA BREAK + POSTER SESSION | 10:45 AM – 11:00 AM | ||
| PLENARY LECTURE | Dr. Thamban Meloth, Director, NCPOR Goa | Ocean Science for Blue Economy | 11:00 AM – 11:40 AM |
| PLENARY LECTURE | Dr. D. K. Sinha, Former Director AMD & CEO, GMIRCS, GMDC Ltd. | Critical Mineral Exploration and their Characterization in India | 11:40 AM – 12:20 PM |
| DISTINGUISHED LECTURE | Shri Rajiva Kumar Singh,ED(Exploration), CIL | Indian Coalfields: A possible potential source of REE and other Critical Minerals | 12:20 PM – 01:00 PM |
| SESSION CHAIR: Dr. Thamban Meloth, Director, NCPOR, Goa | CO-CHAIR: Prof. Ravi Bhushan, Consultant, NCPOR, Goa | |||
| KEYNOTE | Dr. V. K. Banakar, NIO, Goa | Ferromanganese Crust of the Afanasia- Nikitin Seamount, Eastern Equatorial Indian Ocean | 01:00 PM – 01:30 PM |
| KEYNOTE | Dr. Parijat Roy, NCPOR, Goa | Poly-metallic Sulphide Exploration in Deep Ocean: Indian Ocean | 01:30 PM – 02:00 PM |
| LUNCH BREAK | 02:00 PM – 03:00 PM | ||
| SESSION CHAIR: Dr. D. K. Sinha, Former Director, AMD & CEO, GMIRCS, GMDC Ltd. | CO-CHAIR: Prof. Sahendra Singh, AGL, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad | |||
| KEYNOTE | Prof. M. S. Pandian,Visiting faculty, IISER Berhampur | Understanding ore genesis for the exploration of critical mineral deposits | 03:00 PM – 03:30 PM |
| KEYNOTE | Prof. S. G. Viladkar, Carbonatite Research Centre, Gujarat | A Review of REE and Nb Mineralization in the Amba Dongar Carbonatite | 03:30 PM – 04:00 PM |
| TEA BREAK + POSTER SESSION | 04:00 PM – 04:30 PM | ||
| KEYNOTE | Prof. George Mathew, IIT Bombay | Waste to Wealth Transformation of Mining/Industrial Waste: From Liability to Asset | 04:30 PM – 05:00 PM |
| KEYNOTE | Prof. M. L. Dora, JNU | Hydrothermal Systems as Emerging Sources of Critical Minerals: A Brief Review with a Case Study of a Ni-Co-PGE-Bi-Telluride mineralisation from the Western Bastar Craton, Central India | 05:00 PM – 05:30 PM |
| SYMPOSIUM DINNER | 07:30 PM – 09:30 PM | ||
| DATE: 20.03.2026 (FRIDAY) | |||
| REGISTRATION DESK OPEN | 08:00 AM – 09:00 AM | ||
| BREAKFAST | 08:30 AM – 09:00 AM | ||
| FORENOON SESSION (TOPIC: CRITICAL MINERAL CHARACTERIZATION) | |||
| SESSION CHAIR: Prof. D. K. Singh, FMME, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad; CO-CHAIR: Prof. R. Anand, AGL, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad | |||
| KEYNOTE | Dr. Ram Mohan M, NGRI, Hyderabad | Geochemical Characterization of Critical Minerals: Constraints and Recent Advancements | 09:15 AM – 09:45 AM |
| KEYNOTE | Dr. R. Acharya, BARC, Mumbai | Potentials of Neutron and Proton – Based Nuclear Analytical Techniques for Simultaneous and Non-destructive Quantification of Multielements Relevant for Critical Mineral Exploration | 09:45 AM – 10:15 AM |
| KEYNOTE | Dr. D. Bhattacharya, BARC, Mumbai | X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy: A Tool for Characterization of Compositionally Complex Materials | 10:15 AM – 10:45 AM |
| KEYNOTE | Dr. K. Dash, BARC, Hyderabad | Indigenous Production of a Matrix Matched Certified Reference Material (BARC-B1401) of REEs and Matrix Elements in Ferrocarbonatite | 10:45 AM – 11:15 AM |
| KEYNOTE | Dr. Dwijesh Ray, PRL, Ahmedabad | Quantitative Analyses of Trace and Rare Earth Elements in Minerals by Electron Probe Micro Analyser (EPMA) | 11:15 AM – 11:45 AM |
| TEA BREAK + POSTER SESSION | 11:45 AM – 12:00 PM | ||
| ANRF PAIR – B PROJECT SESSION ON CRITICAL MINERAL EXPLORATION | |||
| OUTREACH ACTIVITIES | Prof. Dheeraj Kumar, Deputy Director, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad; Program Director, TEXMiN & ANRF PAIR-B Project | 12:00 PM – 12:30 PM | |
| Dr. Gopika Vinod, Head & Scientific Secretary, BRNS, DAE, Govt. of India | 12:30 PM – 01:00 PM | ||
| Dr. Manoranjan Mohanty, Scientist – G & Head, National Geospatial Program and Nano & Advanced Materials Divisions, Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India | 01:00 PM – 01:30 PM | ||
| INVITED TALK | Shri Akhouri Bishwapriya, DDG, SU: Jharkhand, GSI | Investigation for Graphite and Lithium as a critical mineral in Jharkhand alongside amendments in MMDR act. | 01:30 PM – 02:00 PM |
| LUNCH BREAK | 02:00 PM – 03:00 PM | ||
DATE: 20.03.2026 (FRIDAY)
AFTERNOON SESSION (THEME: CRITICAL MINERAL EXPLORATION STATUS)
| POSTER EVALUATION SESSION | 03:00 PM – 03:30 PM | ||
| PANEL DISCUSSION |
Topic: “Exploration Challenges in Critical Minerals: Science, Policy and Technology Solutions” Panelists: Dr. Joyesh Bagchi (ADG – GSI), Dr. Gopika Vinod (Head & Scientific Secretary, BRNS), Dr. Ranjan Sinha (Chief Hydrologist – Subsurface, Cairn Oil & Gas), Prof. R. Acharya (Head, IRAD, BARC), Prof. Sahendra Singh (Professor, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad), Prof. D. K. Singh (Professor, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad) Moderator: Prof. George Mathew (Professor, IIT Bombay) |
03:30 PM – 04:30 PM | |
| VALEDICTORY SESSION | CHIEF GUEST: DG, GSI | SPECIAL GUEST OF HONOUR: SECRETARY BRNS, DAE | 04:30 PM – 05:30 PM | ||
| REFRESHMENTS | 05:30 PM – 06:00 PM | ||
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