The Union Ministry of Mines on Thursday, November 5 launched the ninth tranche of e-auction for critical and strategic mineral blocks, together with the third tranche of the auction for Grant of Exploration Licence (EL) blocks, IANS reported. The launch was officiated by Union Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy, with Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant as chief guest.

Source: IANS

A total of 20 critical and strategic mineral blocks are being put up for auction in the ninth tranche. Five blocks are located in Chhattisgarh, while Rajasthan, Telangana and West Bengal account for three each. Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra each have two blocks, followed by Bihar and Andhra Pradesh with one each, IANS reported.

Source: IANS

The blocks contain critical minerals such as graphite, vanadium, gallium, titanium, tungsten and scandium. These are used as critical elements in clean energy technologies, electric mobility, advanced manufacturing, fertilisers, defence, aerospace, electronics and other strategic industries, thereby strengthening India's mineral security and supporting the country's energy transition, an official statement said, according to IANS.

Source: IANS

Exploration Licences, introduced through Section 10BA of the MMDR Act, enable private investment in the exploration of 29 critical and deep-seated minerals specified in the Seventh Schedule of the Act, opening up exploration to private industry even before mining begins. So far, 11 EL blocks have been successfully auctioned in two tranches, IANS reported. The government has notified the Mineral (Auction) Third Amendment Rules, 2026 on October 16, reducing the minimum number of Technically Qualified Bidders required for the second round from three to two for Part D minerals, and Letters of Intent will now be issued automatically through the Unified Mining Portal, Nation Press reported from the official release.

Source: Nation Press

The sale of tender documents for both auction processes commenced on Thursday. The last date for purchase of the tender document is January 1, 2027 (by 5 p.m. IST), and the last date for submission of bids (Technical Bid and Initial Price Offer) is January 7, 2027. Critical mineral blocks will be auctioned online through a two-stage ascending forward auction, where the bidder quoting the highest percentage of revenue share wins, while Exploration Licence blocks will go through a two-stage descending reverse auction, IANS reported. Details are available on the MSTC e-auction platform.

Source: IANS