Govt completes auction of 24 critical, strategic mineral blocks in 4 rounds

The government on Wednesday said that 24 critical and strategic mineral blocks have been sold in four rounds of auction.

"Out of 48 blocks put to e-auction, 24 have been successfully auctioned, including four mining lease (ML) and 20 composite license (CL) blocks," the mines ministry said in a statement.

The centre has so far completed four tranches of e-auction, it said, adding that a total of 10 blocks have been auctioned in the fourth round.

According to the statement, the mines ministry has completed the e-auction of another two mineral blocks under tranche IV.

"This is in addition to the announcement on November 7, 2024, regarding the preferred bidders for eight mineral blocks under tranche IV of e-auction by central government, bringing the total number of successful blocks in Tranche IV to ten," it said.

In the latest auction, Satguru Mining Pvt Ltd won the bid for Ponchi graphite block in Jharkhand, while Assam Mineral Development Corp Ltd emerged as the preferred bidder for Vadakhol-Asoli and associated mineral block in Maharashtra.

Critical minerals, such as cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel and rare earths, play crucial roles in the production of clean energy technologies, ranging from wind turbines to electric vehicles.