Govt puts 7 critical and strategic mineral blocks up for bid again

These seven blocks pertains to critical minerals such as Glauconite, Graphite, Nickel, PGE, Potash, Lithium, and Titanium and are spread across the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, UP and J&K

The Centre on Thursday launched the third round of auctions for critical and strategic minerals, putting a total of seven mineral blocks on bidding blocks that received fewer than three bids in the first tranche.

All the blocks are being put up for auction as a composite licence. The outcomes of the initial two tranches are still pending. The first round of auctions for 20 critical minerals in the country began on November 29. Subsequently, a total of 18 mineral blocks were put up for auction on February 29.

“These seven mineral blocks are auctioned under the second attempt of auction as per sub-rule 10 and sub-rule 11(b) of rule 9 of the Mineral (Auction) Rules 2015. The blocks which are notified under this tranche are those blocks which have received less than three bids in the first tranche,” a Ministry of Mines statement said.

These seven blocks pertain to critical minerals such as Glauconite, Graphite, Nickel, PGE, Potash, Lithium, and Titanium and are spread across the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

The notice inviting tender (NIT) has been published on the MSTC e-auction portal and on the Ministry of Mines website.

The date for commencement of sale of Tender Document for the third tranche is March 20, 2024. The last date for purchase of Tender Document from the e-auction platform MSTC is May 9, 2024, on or before 17:00 hours, and the last date for submission of the bid is May 14, 2024, on or before 17:00 hours.

The auction shall be held online through a transparent two-stage ascending forward auction process. The eligible bidder shall be selected based on the highest percentage of the value of mineral despatched quoted by them.

India officially released its first-ever critical minerals list on June 28, identifying 24 key critical minerals crucial to the nation’s economic growth and technological development.