New Delhi, March 31 The government has cancelled the auction of 11 critical and strategic mineral blocks which were put up for sale in the sixth round due to poor investor response and a lack of qualified bidders.
This development comes as a setback to the government's efforts to increase domestic exploration and production of critical minerals amid global supply chain disruptions.
In a notice announcing the cancellation, the mines ministry said that the auction process for 5 mineral blocks was cancelled as no bids were received.
The notice further stated that the auction process for the remaining five mineral blocks was also cancelled as there were fewer than three technically qualified bidders.
Additionally, the auction process for the Baktu Rare Metal Block in West Bengal was also cancelled.
The mines ministry had launched the sixth tranche of auction for 23 critical mineral blocks spread across 13 states in September last year.
The auction included 19 composite license (CL) blocks and four mining lease (ML) blocks in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana, and West Bengal.
These blocks contain strategic minerals including lithium, cobalt, rare earth elements, niobium, tantalum, and vanadium.
So far, six rounds of auctions have been completed, with 46 critical and strategic mineral blocks already sold, according to the mines ministry.
Critical minerals are crucial for the country's economic development and mineral security.
The global transition towards clean energy and advanced technologies has significantly increased the demand for minerals such as lithium, graphite, rare earth elements (REE), tungsten, vanadium, titanium and other rare metals.
Their limited availability and geographical concentration pose challenges to resilient supply chains worldwide.
The government has cancelled the auction of many critical minerals in previous rounds.