Mineral push hit: Govt cancels auction of 5 critical mineral blocks, rare earth mines among those withdrawn

The government has cancelled the auction of five critical mineral blocks, including a rare earth element (REE) mine in Karnataka, in the fifth round of sale after receiving poor response, according to a notice issued by the mines ministry.No bids were received for three of the blocks — two glauconite mines in Gujarat and Chhattisgarh and a nickel and PGE (platinum group element) block in Karnataka — leading to their cancellation, PTI reported. In addition, auctions for a tungsten mine in Maharashtra and an REE block in Karnataka were annulled as they did not attract the minimum three technically qualified bidders.The fifth tranche of auctions was launched in January with 15 blocks on offer.

Of these, 10 blocks have been successfully auctioned. They comprise critical and strategic minerals such as graphite, phosphorite, phosphate, REE, vanadium, potash and halite across Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.Coal India, Oil India, NLC India and Vedanta Group’s Hindustan Zinc were among the firms that secured key mineral assets in this round. So far, 34 mineral blocks have been auctioned across five tranches out of the 55 put on sale.

The auctions are part of the government’s broader push to strengthen domestic supply chains and reduce import dependence in critical minerals. These resources — including copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earths — are seen as essential for scaling up clean energy technologies