Govt cancels auction of 14 critical mineral blocks launched in 2nd tranche

Govt cancels 2nd part of 14 out of 18 critical mineral block auctions

The Government of India on June 24 cancelled the auction for 14 blocks of critical minerals launched in the second tranche of such auctions, a notice by government agency MSTC showed.

The auction of the critical mineral blocks launched in the second tranche were cancelled after receiving lacklustre interest from bidders, the Ministry of Mines said.

The Union Mines Ministry had launched 18 critical and strategic mineral blocks spread across eight states in the second tranche of an auction on February 29, with the resources being valued at about Rs 30 lakh crore or $362 billion.

The mineral blocks that were put for auction include graphite, vanadium, nickel, rare earth elements, PGE, cobalt, etc. These blocks are spread across states including Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu, among others.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre is using the auctions as part of its effort to adopt more renewable energy sources.

The Ministry of Mines announced in a notification dated June 21 that no bids were received, so the auction procedure for five blocks in the states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Arunachal Pradesh was cancelled. Minerals including potash, chromium, graphite, and vanadium were present in these blocks.

Separately, the auction process for nine blocks, including those containing tungsten, limestone, and cobalt, were annulled as bids received were fewer than the minimum requirement of three.

These blocks are dispersed over the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Chhattisgarh.

(With agency inputs)