Critical mineral blocks auction: A snapshot of the progress so far

The Union Ministry of Mines has annulled the auction process for five blocks under tranche-5 of the critical mineral auction, citing poor investor response.

 

Of these, three blocks received no bids at all. Two others had fewer than the required three technically qualified bidders, leading to cancellation under the Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2015.

 

The three blocks that failed to attract interest were the Katesar-Guneri Glauconite block in Gujarat, the Kelenda Glauconite block in Chhattisgarh, and the Holalkere-Doddaghatta Nickel and PGE block in Karnataka.

 

Two additional blocks — the Khobna and Agargaon cluster tungsten block in Maharashtra and the Mincheri rare earth element (REE) block in Karnataka — were annulled due to insufficient qualified bidders.

 

Since the launch of auctions for critical minerals in 2023, the government has offered 81 blocks across five tranches. This included 56 fresh blocks offered for the first time and 25 blocks re-auctioned after failing to draw interest earlier.

 

Of these 81 blocks, 34 attracted sufficient bids to move forward, 33 saw fewer than three technically qualified bidders, and 14 received no bids, leading to cancellations.

 

In these auctions, the government grants two types of concessions. A mining lease (ML) allows the winning bidder to directly undertake mining operations, while a composite licence (CL) combines prospecting and mining rights — enabling the licensee first to explore the area and then transition into mining.

	Tranche 1	Tranche 2	Tranche 3	Tranche 4	Tranche 5
Total Blocks put up for auction	20	18	7	21	15
Fresh Blocks	20	18	0	11	7
Reauctioned Blocks	0	0	7	10	8
Mining Leases (MLs)	4	1	0	1	2
Composite Licences (CLs)	16	17	7	20	13
Preferred bidders announced	6	4	4	10	10
Less than 3 technically qualified bidders	12	9	3	7	2
No Bids	2	5	0	4	3
Source: Ministry of Mines