Category: Business News
The Union Mines Ministry on 5 November 2026 launched the ninth tranche of e-auction for critical and strategic mineral blocks, putting 20 blocks across eight states up for auction. It also launched the third tranche of the auction for grant of exploration licences, covering 11 exploration blocks in six states.
Union Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy launched both rounds at the 4th Conference of Mining Ministers in Goa (5–6 November), with Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant as chief guest.
Which states get the blocks
The 20 blocks in the ninth tranche are spread across Chhattisgarh (5 blocks), Rajasthan, Telangana and West Bengal (3 each), Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra (2 each), and Bihar and Andhra Pradesh (1 each).
The blocks contain minerals such as graphite, vanadium, gallium, titanium, tungsten, scandium, rare earth elements and potash — materials used in batteries, electronics, defence equipment and fertilisers.
Key dates for bidders
The sale of tender documents began on 5 November 2026. The last date to buy tender documents is 1 January 2027, by 5 PM IST, and the last date to submit bids (technical bid and initial price offer) is 7 January 2027. The e-auction will be held on the MSTC platform.
The exploration licence blocks are for private companies to explore 29 critical and deep-seated minerals before mining begins. The exploration licence regime was introduced through Section 10BA of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
A reform to make auctions work
Along with the launch, the ministry highlighted a reform notified on 16 October 2026: the Mineral (Auction) Third Amendment Rules, 2026 cut the minimum number of technically qualified bidders needed for the second round of bidding from three to two for Part D minerals. The change is meant to stop auctions failing simply because too few bidders qualified.
Letters of Intent for winning bidders will now be issued automatically through the Unified Mining Portal.
The track record so far
In the previous eight tranches, 100 unique critical and strategic mineral blocks were offered and 64 were successfully auctioned — a 64% success rate. The two earlier exploration licence tranches auctioned 11 blocks.
The auctions sit inside the National Critical Mineral Mission, which runs from 2024-25 to 2030-31 and aims to secure India’s supply of minerals that are essential for clean energy, electric vehicles and strategic industries but are today largely imported.
Source: PIB / IANS, 5 November 2026.
