Ministry of Mines auctions 10 critical mineral blocks in fifth tranche

The Ministry of Mines has completed the fifth tranche of auctions, successfully awarding 10 blocks containing critical and strategic minerals across six states.

The auctioned blocks include graphite, phosphorite, phosphate, rare earth elements (REE), vanadium, potash, and halite. These are located in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

Coal India Limited (CIL) secured the Oranga-Revatipur block in Chhattisgarh, which holds graphite and vanadium, with the highest final price offer of 189.75 per cent.

Hindustan Zinc Limited won two blocks: the Jhandawali-Satipura amalgamated block in Rajasthan for potash and halite with a bid of 3.05 per cent, and the Nawatola-Laband block in Uttar Pradesh containing REEs with a bid of 3.55 per cent.

This round marks two milestones: the first successful auction of potash blocks in India and the first auction of a critical mineral block in Rajasthan.