According to miningIndia's mining minister, Prahad Joshi, revealed on Thursday that a second round of auctions of critical mineral blocks, worth 30 trillion rupees (about $362 billion), will be launched, Reuters reported.
*According to the announcement, 18 critical mineral blocks will be auctioned, involving minerals including tungsten, vanadium, cobalt and nickel, which are spread across Chhattisgarh, **, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, among others.
Of these, 17 blocks are multi-licensed, and one is a mining license. The comprehensive licence includes exploration and development.
Joshi added that five states – Maharashtra, **, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, will separately auction off critical mineral exploration blocks.
In addition, he revealed that the first round of auctions, which was launched in November last year, received 56 applications from institutions, including Vedanta Ltd, Coal India, Shree Cement, Ola Electric, Dalmia Group and Jindal Power.
The first second round of auctions will take place in mid-March, and the winning bidders will be announced in mid-April.
Joshi added that there will be no more coal shortages in India this year.
Joshi's remarks came a week after Coal India announced that its coal production target for FY2025 would be lowered due to ample inventories.
*: Ministry of Natural Resources.