The Union Ministry of Mines on Thursday, November 5, 2026 launched the ninth tranche of e-auctions of critical and strategic mineral blocks, putting 20 blocks up for bidding, together with the third tranche of auctions for the grant of Exploration Licences (EL). The launch was made by Union Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy at the 4th Conference of Mining Ministers in Goa, with Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant attending as chief guest, according to the ministry's release.

Source: Ministry of Mines via PIB release

The 20 blocks are spread across eight states: Chhattisgarh has the most with five, Rajasthan, Telangana and West Bengal have three each, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have two each, and Bihar and Andhra Pradesh have one each. The blocks contain minerals including graphite, vanadium, gallium, titanium, rare earth elements, tungsten, scandium, potash and bauxite.

Source: Nation Press

20critical and strategic mineral blocks offered in Tranche IX
8states covered, led by Chhattisgarh with 5 blocks
64 of 100blocks successfully auctioned in the first eight tranches
7 Jan 2027deadline for bid submission (17:00 IST)

Across the previous eight tranches, the government offered 100 unique critical and strategic mineral blocks, of which 64 were successfully auctioned. The simultaneous Exploration Licence tranche offers 11 blocks; Exploration Licences, introduced through Section 10BA of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, let private investors fund exploration of the 29 critical and deep-seated minerals listed in the Seventh Schedule before mining begins, and 11 EL blocks have been auctioned in the first two tranches.

Source: Construction Mirror

The ministry also pointed to a rule change notified on October 16, 2026 — the Mineral (Auction) Third Amendment Rules, 2026 — which cut the minimum number of Technically Qualified Bidders required for the second round of an auction from three to two for Part D minerals. Two digital portals of the Indian Bureau of Mines, ANVESH and EKAM, were also launched at the Goa conference.

Sale of tender documents for both auction processes began on November 5, 2026. The last date to purchase a tender document is January 1, 2027 (by 17:00 IST) and bids — the Technical Bid and Initial Price Offer — must be submitted by January 7, 2027 (by 17:00 IST). Composite licence and mining lease blocks will be auctioned online through a two-stage ascending forward auction, where the bidder quoting the highest percentage of revenue share wins; Exploration Licence blocks go through a two-stage descending reverse auction, where the bidder quoting the lowest percentage share of a future lessee's revenue wins. The auctions run on the MSTC e-auction platform.