India cancels auction of 14 critical mineral blocks in second tranche

Indian Ministry of Mines has cancelled the auction of 14 out of 18 critical mineral blocks that were put up for sale in the second tranche of auctions.

According to a notice issued by the ministry on June 21, the auction process for five blocks located in Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan was annulled as no bids were received. These blocks had minerals such as vanadium, graphite, chromium, and potash.

In addition to this, the auction process for nine other blocks, including those with deposits of tungsten, limestone, and cobalt, was also cancelled as the number of bids received was fewer than the minimum requirement of three.

These blocks were spread across the states of Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Arunachal Pradesh. The sale of these mineral blocks is part of the government's ambitious $362 billion initiative launched in February to promote the exploration and development of critical minerals.

These minerals are essential for the country's clean energy transition and reducing its dependence on imports.

Fourth tranche of auction launched

The fourth tranche of auction was launched on Monday (June 24) that included21 blocks of critical mineral.

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"Out of these 21 blocks, 11 are fresh blocks, spanning six States, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. These blocks contain a variety of minerals including Graphite, Glauconite, Phosphorite, Potash, Nickel, PGE, Phosphate and Rare Earth Elements (REE)," a government press release read.

"10 critical mineral blocks are on offer as the “second attempt” blocks of previous tranches of auction. These 10 blocks are located in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu and have important critical minerals like Tungsten, Vanadium, Graphite, Glauconite, Cobalt and Nickel," the release further read.

(With inputs from agencies)