Fourth critical minerals auction kicks off next week under a new Minister

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The fourth round of critical minerals auction will kick off on June 24, marking the first one under the newly-appointed Minister for Coal and Mines, Kishan Reddy.

As many as 20 critical mineral blocks are to be put up for sale in the fourth round of auction, mines secretary V L Kantha Rao had said in April. An invitation sent by the ministry  to relevant stakeholders for the event has been reviewed by Moneycontrol.

The auction aims to strengthen the domestic supply of raw materials needed to support India's green energy shift.

The Mines Ministry has so far launched three tranches of auction for 38 critical mineral blocks, however it cancelled auction for 13 of the 20 blocks put on sale in the first tranche, citing lukewarm response.

The highly publicised Salal-Haimna Lithium, Titanium and Bauxite

(Aluminous Laterite) block in the union territory Jammu and Kashmir, floated in the first tranche received less than three bids, while no bids were received for the two Molybdenum blocks located in Tamil Nadu.

Mines Ministry has not specified names of the blocks that will be auctioned in the fourth tranche. A scheme to partially reimburse exploration expenses of license holders will also be announced during the auction.

The Mines Ministry also plans to announce preferred bidders for the first tranche of the auction.

The ministry of mines did not immediately comment when reached out by Moneycontrol on June 19.

Separately, the ministry is also expected to hand over certificates to newly notified private exploration agencies (NPEAS) and sanction letters to Research and Development institutes, according to the email communication reviewed by Moneycontrol.

In March, the ministry invited research and development proposals for mining technology, including deep-sea and green mining, from academic institutions.

Last year, the ministry officially launched the auction of 20 mineral blocks containing minerals such as lithium, platinum-group elements, graphite, molybdenum, potash, phosphorite, rare earth elements, and glauconite.

These blocks are spread across states including Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, and the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.