Trading through the exchange will be voluntary in the first year, but could eventually become mandatory, according to people familiar with the matter. Yogesh Kale, head of mines management at IBM, confirmed that both IBM and the Ministry of Mines are finalizing the rules.The idea is to establish a price discovery mechanism for minerals, similar to the LME. Depending on exchange regulations, individual investors may also participate in trading.The Ministry of Mines first proposed swapping minerals for coal last year. In October, IBM became the exchange’s regulator. Regarding coal exchange, the Coal Office Manager became the regulatory authority.IBM expects this rule to be approved in the near future. The draft policy covers key operational aspects such as warehousing, delivery mechanisms, payment systems and compliance with Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) regulations. Officials have indicated that all exchanges operating in India will eventually launch mineral trading platforms. Exchanges are expected to reflect realistic prices based on supply and demand. Currently, the rate is derived from the revenue that miners submit to IBM, and IBM calculates a weighted average to set the base price for royalty calculations.
