 "Madhya Pradesh govt announces biggest-ever auction of mineral blocks")
In a move aimed at boosting India’s self-reliance in strategic resources, the Madhya Pradesh government has issued a notice inviting tender (NIT) for the auction of 51 mineral blocks.
This auction, which is set to be the largest ever by the state, includes the allocation of strategic and critical minerals. It marks a major milestone in India’s quest for mineral security.
These 51 blocks comprise 14 minerals and metals, including strategic and critical minerals like graphite, vanadium, platinum, and copper.
The other major minerals and metals like gold, diamond, manganese, bauxite, limestone, iron ore, phosphorite, laterite, and base metal will also be put to auction.
After the introduction of the auction regime in 2015, a total of 754 blocks have been put up for bidding by various major mineral-bearing states. Of this, 276 blocks have been successfully auctioned, the ministry of mines said in a statement on Friday.
Out of the 51 mineral blocks for which NIT has been issued by Madhya Pradesh, “Thirteen are for mining lease and 38 blocks for composite licence,” the ministry highlighted.
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According to the ministry of mines data, the highest number of auctions was concluded in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23).
A total of 105 auctions were conducted that year. With just six concluded auctions, FY16 saw the lowest number of concluded auctions. In FY24, a total of 15 auctions were concluded so far.
Madhya Pradesh, known for its rich mineral wealth, is home to abundant reserves of various minerals, including coal, limestone, bauxite, and others.
Since 2015, Madhya Pradesh has auctioned a total of 46 blocks — the second highest in the country. With the auction of 48 blocks, Odisha has done the highest number of auctions in the country.
According to the ministry data, blocks have been put up for auction in 13 states — Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Goa.
Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Kerala, among others, have not auctioned any blocks since 2015.
Among the 15 categories where auctions were done since 2015, the highest were for iron ore (94, including 2 re-auctions). The others are limestone (77), bauxite (28), and manganese (26), respectively.