Centre cancels auction for 3 mineral blocks, including Lithium mine in J-K, cites low bids

The government has scrapped the auction of three critical mineral blocks, including a lithium mine in Jammu and Kashmir, under the third tranche of sale of mines due to a lower-than-required number of bidders.

The auction is a part of the government's push towards cleaner alternatives and self-reliance in critical mineral supplies.

The three blocks are Salal-Haimna Lithium, Titanium and Bauxite (Aluminous Laterite) Block in Jammu and Kashmir, Muskaniya-Gareriatola-Barwari Potash block in Jharkhand and Kurunjakulam Graphite block in Tamil Nadu.

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The auction was annulled as the “required number of bids as per the mineral auction rules have not been received”, according to a notice by the Mines Ministry.

The ministry, on March 14, put on sale seven critical mineral blocks in the third round of auction. The blocks that received less than three bids in the first tranche were notified under this round.

These seven blocks pertain to critical minerals such as Glauconite, Graphite, Nickel, PGE, Potash, Lithium, and Titanium and are spread across the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Last month, the government cancelled the auction of 14 blocks of critical minerals launched in the second tranche. In the first tranche of sale, the Centre had cancelled the auction for 13 of the 20 blocks put on sale due to a lukewarm response.

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The Centre last month launched the fourth round of auctions of critical and strategic mineral blocks offering 21 mines in several states including Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

Out of these 21 blocks, 11 are new, spanning Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. These blocks contain a variety of minerals including Graphite, Glauconite, Phosphorite, Potash, Nickel, PGE, Phosphate and Rare Earth Elements (REE).