105 mineral blocks proposed to be auctioned: Govt

The government Thursday said that as many as 105 blocks are proposed to be auctioned.

"As per the information provided by the state governments, during the current financial year 2018-19, 18 blocks have been auctioned and 105 mineral blocks are proposed to be put on auction," Minister of State for Mines Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Of the 105 mineral blocks proposed to be auctioned, the 20 mineral blocks are in Odisha, followed by 17 in Jharkhand and 16 in Rajasthan, among others.

Of the 18 blocks auctioned in the ongoing fiscal, seven are iron ore blocks in Karnataka and five in Madhya Pradesh.

He further said that Geological Survey of India (GSI) is finalising detailed mineral exploration reports for handing over a total of 18 mineral blocks to the concerned state governments by February, 2019.

"During its current field season 2018-19, GSI has taken up mineral exploration items at detailed exploration stage," it said.