India has completed 56 auctions of critical and strategic mineral blocks, a significant move towards enhancing domestic mineral supplies and furthering the nation’s critical mineral mission. The Ministry of Mines, under the Central Government, successfully auctioned 10 critical and strategic mineral blocks in the seventh tranche, bringing the total number of auctioned blocks to 56.
This achievement represents a success rate of over 63%, with 56 blocks auctioned out of the 88 unique mineral blocks put up for auction by the Central Government. The recent tranche marked a notable expansion in India’s critical mineral exploration domain, with the auction of critical mineral blocks in Gujarat, Uttarakhand, and Telangana for the first time by the Central Government.
The minerals auctioned in this tranche included Graphite, Rare Earth Elements (REE), Vanadium, Titanium, Glauconite, Rock Phosphate, and associated minerals, thereby broadening the geographical scope of critical mineral exploration in the country. The auctions, comprising 19 mineral blocks with critical and strategic minerals, were conducted under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, and the Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2015.
In addition to the critical mineral auctions, the Ministry also successfully concluded the Second Tranche of Exploration Licence (EL) auctions, further fortifying India’s exploration ecosystem. This tranche expanded the Exploration Licence framework to Arunachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Odisha for the first time by the Central Government, creating new avenues for exploring critical and deep-seated minerals.
Following the completion of the second tranche, the total number of Exploration Licence blocks auctioned by the Central Government has now reached 11 since the inception of the EL auction regime. The Exploration Licence framework facilitates systematic exploration of critical and deep-seated minerals by encouraging participation from both private and public sector entities.
