NEW DELHI, October 13 — The Union Ministry of Mines on Tuesday officially notified the commencement of the fourth tranche of commercial auctions for 24 critical and strategic mineral blocks under the statutory mandates of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2023.
According to the official auction bulletin, the 24 mineral assets include prospective reserves of lithium, cobalt, titanium, graphite, vanadium, nickel, and Rare Earth Elements (REEs) situated across eight states: Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, and Andhra Pradesh. Prominent among the offered blocks are composite licences for the Salal-Haimana lithium deposits in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir and deep-seated REE pegmatite complexes in central India.
Ministry officials emphasized that accelerating domestic extraction of critical minerals directly insulates India's semiconductor fabrication, electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing, and telecommunications supply chains against external geopolitical disruptions and export controls. The e-auctions utilize a transparent two-stage forward ascending format conducted via the MSTC portal.
The statutory architecture of the MMDR Amendment Act 2023 (which empowered the Central Government to auction 24 critical and strategic minerals and introduced Exploration Licences for deep-seated minerals), India's Critical Minerals Strategy (identifying 30 essential non-fuel minerals), India's entry into the US-led Mineral Security Partnership (MSP), and the Geological Survey of India (GSI founded in 1851) are foundational syllabus areas across UPSC Civil Services (GS-III: Resources & Economic Security) and State Geologist recruitment tests.