Centre to invite bids for 20 critical mineral blocks in next two weeks

New Delhi: The government on Tuesday said that it will invite bids for 20 critical mineral blocks in the next two weeks. Post this auction notice, a workshop is expected to be organised in which all the stakeholders will be brought together and a national-level strategy for mining and processing of critical minerals will be made.

Among all 20 critical minerals blocks proposed by the government for bidding, lithium and graphite mines have been included. “After making the policy on critical minerals, the next step is the auctioning of critical mineral blocks. Now, we are almost ready to issue the auction notice and in two weeks' time, we will be issuing an auction notice for auctioning about 20 blocks that are related to critical minerals like lithium and graphite,” mines secretary VL Kantha Rao told reporters while speaking after the inauguration of the Mining Pavilion at India International Trade Fair (IITF) here.

The secretary also said 10-12 players in the country have the technology to produce and process critical minerals. “Post this auction notice, a workshop will be organised in which all the stakeholders will be brought together and a national-level strategy on mining and processing of critical minerals will be made,” the secretary said.

Last month, the Centre had approved royalty rates of three per cent each for lithium and niobium and one per cent for Rare Earth Elements (REEs). Critical minerals have become important for the nation's economic development and national security. Lithium and REEs have gained significance keeping in mind the country's commitment towards energy transition and achieving net-zero emission by 2070.