The Union mines ministry is likely to begin the auction of offshore mineral blocks in the next two or three months with 10 such blocks to be put under the hammer in the first phase, coal and mines minister G Kishan Reddy said on Thursday.
“The government plans to auction offshore mineral blocks in two to three months,” Reddy told reporters after the inauguration of the mines ministry pavilion at India International Trade Fair.
Also ReadSpiceJet settles a $90.8 million EDC dispute saving $68.3 million; gets ownership of 13 Q400 aircraft
Offshore mineral blocks including nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, and rare earth elements are located deep within the earth’s crust making it difficult to extract them as compared with onshore minerals.
Also Read Air India Express expands network with focus on Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, set to have over 110 planes by March 25 BCCI reviews India’s 0-3 loss to New Zealand: Key decisions on Bumrah’s absence, Gambhir’s coaching style and more MSCI skips Adani Energy inclusion, stock tumbles 10 per cent Trump 2.0: ‘America first’ and India
To boost domestic production of critical minerals in its measure to reduce import dependency and increase renewable energy capacity to meet the net-zero targets, the government amended the Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 2002, providing an auction route for awarding production leases for offshore minerals.
The minister also said that three stages of exploration of the lithium block in Jammu and Kashmir has been done and the work for the fourth stage has started.
The government had earlier canceled the auction of lithium mines in Jammu and Kashmir due to a lower-than-required number of bidders.
In 2023, around 5.9 million tonnes of lithium reserves were found located in Jammu and Kashmir.
Also ReadHAL posts Q2 profit growth of 22.14% at Rs 1510.49 crore, shares rises 3%
The government bears the responsibility of auctioning critical mineral blocks, and revenue generated from the auction and subsequent royalty payments will accrue to the states. In 2021, the government amended the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Amendment Act, empowering the central government to notify entities, including private entities, eligible to undertake mining operations.
The ministry of mines has earlier said that it plans to put 500 blocks of minerals on auction by 2025-26,
» Read More
