- 20 critical and strategic mineral blocks offered across nine states
- Portfolio spans molybdenum, graphite, glauconite, vanadium, gallium, titanium, REEs, etc.
The Ministry of Mines has launched the eighth tranche of auctions for 20 critical and strategic mineral blocks, further advancing India’s efforts to secure domestic supplies of minerals essential for clean energy, advanced manufacturing, fertilisers and defence.
The tranche comprises 13 newly identified blocks and seven blocks being offered under the second-attempt mechanism, reflecting the government’s continued focus on accelerating exploration and commercial development of critical mineral resources.
The latest tranche builds on the progress of the government’s critical mineral auction programme. Across the first seven auction rounds, 56 of the 88 critical and strategic mineral blocks offered have been successfully auctioned, representing a success rate of more than 63%. According to the Ministry, the consistent response from industry reflects growing confidence in India’s transparent and competitive auction framework for mineral resource allocation.
The mineral sector also achieved a record milestone during FY2025-26, with 212 mineral blocks successfully auctioned—the highest annual total since the auction regime was introduced. This included 22 critical and strategic mineral blocks, highlighting the government’s increasing emphasis on strengthening domestic availability of minerals required for emerging technologies and the energy transition.
To facilitate faster project execution, the government has recently amended the Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2026. The reforms rationalise timelines for upfront payments, provide greater flexibility in executing mining lease and prospecting licence deeds, and enable quicker refunds of bid security, performance security and other payments where auctions are annulled for reasons not attributable to the preferred or successful bidder.
The latest reforms are expected to improve ease of doing business, enhance investor confidence and accelerate the operationalisation of auctioned mineral blocks. Increased domestic production of critical minerals is expected to support India’s long-term objective of reducing import dependence while strengthening supply chains for electric vehicles, battery manufacturing, renewable energy, electronics and defence industries.
Tender document sales commenced on 15 July and will remain open until 14 September. Technical bids and initial price offers are scheduled to close on 21 September, after which qualified bidders will participate in the electronic forward auction process.
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