Govt to auction 23 critical mineral blocks in sixth tranche on Tuesday

The Centre will launch the sixth tranche of auctions for critical and strategic minerals on Tuesday, offering 23 blocks and announcing the first set of bidders for exploration licences

The Centre will launch the sixth tranche of auctions on Tuesday for critical and strategic minerals, offering 23 blocks across multiple states. It will also announce the first set of bidders for exploration licences (ELs) under its new regime, the Ministry of Mines said in a statement.

 

The tranche comprises four mineral blocks for mining leases and 19 for composite licences, covering resources such as rare earth elements, tungsten, lithium, tin, graphite, vanadium, titanium, cobalt, zirconium, gallium, rock phosphate, and potash.

 

The ministry will also announce the preferred bidders for seven EL blocks tendered out of 13 such blocks offered in March this year. Spread across Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, these are the first awards under the new auction-based EL regime.

 

 

Since the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2023 empowered the Centre to auction 24 critical minerals, five rounds have been completed. Of the 55 blocks offered so far, 34 have been successfully auctioned, generating revenues for state governments.