Odisha earmarks 12 critical minerals blocks for auctions in FY’26 and FY’27

• Vanadium, tin, and graphite blocks to be put under hammer
• Govt auctioning blocks under 6th tranche with mixed success

The Centre has asked the states to share in advance a pipeline of mineral deposits that could come up for auction in the coming year to ensure predictability and transparency in mineral auctions. Apart from publishing a list of major minerals (India: Odisha lines up 35 mineral blocks for auction next year), India’s leading mineral-bearing state, Odisha, has also come up with a list of 12 critical mineral blocks ready to be put under the hammer.

These blocks, to be eventually auctioned by the Centre as mining licences, include three deposits of manganese + graphite in Balangir district of western Odisha. These are Tamiya, Rengali and Uchhabapalli-Thakurpalli, all explored up to the G2 level. A base metal deposit (copper + nickel + gold + silver) in Deogarh, the Adash-Rampali block, will also be offered for mining rights.

Two graphite blocks, Tumandi in Nayagarh and Jagdalpur in Rayagada, will also be ready for auction soon after their reserves are finalised.

Odisha is ready with four blocks to be auctioned as composite licences:  three graphite blocks in Kalahandi and one vanadiferous + magnetite + gold block in Mayurbhanj district. To be offered as exploration licences hopefully before the end of FY’26, are a rare earth element (REE) block in Kalahandi and a titanium + vanadium block in Mayurbhanj. Decision on when these will be auctioned lies with the Centre which is currently auctioning, with mixed success, blocks under the sixth tranche of critical minerals auctions.

For FY’27, Odisha has set aside the Mundaguda tin block in Malkangiri and the vanadiferous magnetite block, Betjharan, in Mayurbhanj.

Vanadium is used to strengthen steel, but its high efficiency, superior energy density, and stable energy output also make it ideal for batteries (vanadium redox flow batteries) critical to renewable energy and large-scale energy storage or power grids.

Tin is indispensable to modern electronics but is concentrated in its supply and thus has made it to the list of critical minerals.