TEXMiN–MaxelS’ Nagpur Center of Excellence to focus on critical mineral value chains in Maharashtra

The Center is designed to strengthen TEXMiN’s ongoing work in critical minerals, REEs, and digital mineralogy, and deepen its engagement with partners across the region.
| Photo Credit:
AI generated

The TEXMiN–MaxelS Center of Excellence for critical minerals at Nagpur aims to converge exploration, digital mineralogy and technology development under a single roof to strengthen supply chains in Maharashtra.

The establishment of the centre of excellence in Maharashtra has a strong rationale. The State holds roughly 41 per cent of India’s rare earth element (REE) resources, with Nagpur being the heart of the Vidarbha mining and coal belt.

Nagpur is also home to Western Coalfields (WCL), Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), Manganese Ore (India), Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre, Directorate General of Mines Safety, and Maharashtra’s Directorate of Geology & Mining.

The TEXMiN–MaxelS Center of Excellence brings together capabilities across the critical mineral value chain, including exploration & mapping, extraction digital mineralogy & AI-based analytics, advanced testing & analytical facilities and training & capacity building.

The Center is designed to strengthen TEXMiN’s ongoing work in critical minerals, REEs, and digital mineralogy, and deepen its engagement with partners across the region.

natural base

“This concentration of institutional and mineral strength makes the city a natural base for work in critical minerals, rare earth elements, and digital mineralogy, and that presence was formalised with the inauguration of the TEXMiN–MaxelS Center of Excellence for Critical Minerals & Digital Mineralogy in Nagpur,” TEXMiN Foundation said.

Technology Innovation in Exploration & Mining Foundation (TEXMiN) is a section-8 company created under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) programme by the Department of Science and Technology at IIT (ISM) Dhanbad. MaxelS Tekventures is a Nagpur-based start-up incubated under TEXMiN.

Sukumar Mishra, Chairman of Hub Governing Board at TEXMiN, said “Inauguration of the Center of Excellence marks an important milestone in extending our institutional strength into Maharashtra, a state with deep-rooted mining expertise and a significant share of India’s rare earth resources.”

The Center will help push forward research, technology development, and skilled talent, Mishra, who is also the Director of IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, added.

Dheeraj Kumar, Director of TEXMiN, emphasised that Nagpur’s rich mining and mineral ecosystem makes it a natural home for this Center of Excellence.

“Through our partnership with MaxelS, we aim to bring together exploration, digital mineralogy, and technology development under one roof, translating research into real capability on the ground,” he added.

Madhu Nair, CEO of MaxelS Tekventures, said, the Center of Excellence is a natural extension of the company’s journey with TEXMiN, from incubation to building indigenous technology.

Nagpur gives us access to a strong mining and mineral ecosystem, and this collaboration lets us bring exploration, digital mineralogy, and automation capabilities together under one platform,” Nair added.

Published on August 18, 2026