The Centre has shared a list of 13 blocks – including gold, lead, zinc and rare earth elements – it will grant exploration licences for. The blocks are spread over Tirupati and Chittoor districts in Andhra Pradesh to West Kameng in Arunachal and rich in diamonds, gold and vanadium.
The details of each block, the model tender document and notice inviting tender have been uploaded on MSTC’s portal for mineral auctions.
The auction of exploration licenses is a first and a major reform to unlock India’s untapped critical and deep-seated mineral resources. The government had amended the MMDR Amendment Act in 2023 to allow private participation in reconnaissance and prospecting of 29 critical and deep-seated minerals, including lithium, copper, cobalt, gold, silver, REEs, and PGEs, listed in a new Seventh Schedule of the Act.
Simultaneously “to facilitate smooth implementation” the Centre had exercised its powers under the MMDR Act to auction the leases itself.
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