Government Cancels Auction of Three Critical Mineral Blocks Due To Low Bidder Turnout

The government has cancelled the auction of three critical mineral blocks, including a lithium mine in Jammu and Kashmir, under the third tranche of the sale of mines due to an insufficient number of bidders.

The auction was part of the government’s strategy to promote cleaner alternatives and achieve self-reliance in critical mineral supplies. The blocks in question are the Salal-Haimna Lithium, Titanium, and Bauxite (Aluminous Laterite) Block in Jammu and Kashmir, the Muskaniya-Gareriatola-Barwari Potash block in Jharkhand, and the Kurunjakulam Graphite block in Tamil Nadu.

The Mines Ministry announced that the auction was annulled as the “required number of bids as per the mineral auction rules have not been received.” On March 14, the ministry had put seven critical mineral blocks on sale in the third round of the auction. These blocks, which had received fewer than three bids in the first tranche, were re-notified for this round.

The seven blocks in this round included minerals such as Glauconite, Graphite, Nickel, PGE, Potash, Lithium, and Titanium, and are located in Bihar, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Last month, the government also cancelled the auction of 14 blocks of critical minerals launched in the second tranche. Similarly, in the first tranche, the Centre had cancelled the auction of 13 out of 20 blocks due to a lackluster response.

In response, the Centre last month initiated the fourth round of auctions for critical and strategic mineral blocks, offering 21 mines across several states including Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. Out of these 21 blocks, 11 are new, spanning across Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. These blocks contain a variety of minerals including Graphite, Glauconite, Phosphorite, Potash, Nickel, PGE, Phosphate, and Rare Earth Elements (REE).