Govt cancels auction of 5 critical mineral blocks due to poor response

The government has cancelled the auction of five critical mineral blocks, including a rare earth element (REE) block in Karnataka, in the fifth round of auction due to poor response.

There were no bids for three blocks -- two glauconite mines in Gujarat and Chhattisgarh and one Nickel and PGE (Platinum Group Element) block in Karnataka, which led to cancellation of their auction, the mines ministry said in a notice.

Besides, sale of two other blocks -- a tungsten mine in Maharashtra and an REE block in Karnataka -- was annulled for lack of minimum three technically qualified bidders, it said.

The fifth tranche of auction of critical and strategic mineral blocks was launched in January. Of 15 blocks put on auction, 10 have been auctioned.

These 10 blocks comprise critical and strategic minerals including graphite, phosphorite, phosphate, REE, vanadium and potash and halite spread across Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Coal India, Oil India, NLC India, and Vedanta Group's Hindustan Zinc were some of the companies that secured key mineral blocks in the fifth round of auction.

A total of 34 blocks have been auctioned in five rounds out of the 55 put for sale.

The auctions are part of the government's efforts to make India self-reliant on critical mineral resources.

Critical minerals like copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and REEs are essential raw materials to fuel the growth of rapidly-growing clean energy technologies.