The National Mineral Development Corporation R&D Centre (NMDC R&D Centre) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IIT Hyderabad) to deepen academic and research collaboration in the mineral and metals sector. The agreement was formalised by the executive director responsible for research and development at NMDC and the dean for sponsored research and consultancy at IIT Hyderabad in the presence of the institute director. The partnership is intended to advance indigenous technologies in mineral processing and allied areas.

The collaboration will prioritise research on iron ore beneficiation and agglomeration, green steelmaking technologies, and alternative ironmaking using indigenous raw materials. It will also support advanced modelling and simulation of mining and metallurgical processes and explore extraction routes for critical and rare earth minerals from primary and secondary sources to strengthen mineral security. The partners intend to translate laboratory research into pilot initiatives that enhance resource resilience.

Aligned with rapid digital transformation in the sector, the partnership will pursue pilot projects in autonomous vehicle movement, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) for operational optimisation. It will explore Mining four point zero frameworks and drone enabled surveying and monitoring to improve efficiency and environmental stewardship. Integration of operational strength with research driven innovation is intended to deliver sustainable, technology led solutions across the evolving mineral landscape.

NMDC leadership indicated that the MoU reinforces the corporation's commitment to innovation through industry academia collaboration and will leverage institutional research excellence alongside domain expertise. The memorandum is framed as contributing to sustainable development and national objectives of Atmanirbhar Bharat as the NMDC R&D Centre marks its 50 year milestone of contribution to the mineral sector. The institutions expect the collaboration to accelerate translation of research into industrial applications and support long term technological advancement.