Centre to launch first ever critical mineral auction on November 29: Key things to know

The Union government will roll out the first-ever auction of critical and strategic minerals on November 29, the mines ministry said on Tuesday. As many as 20 blocks of the minerals spread across the length and breadth of the country, crucial for the growth of strategic areas such as renewable energy, defence, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, high-tech electronics, telecommunications and transport, will be up for grabs under the first-of-its-kind auction, according to an official statement. 

Describing the proposed auction process as a major initiative towards the country’s energy transition efforts, the mines ministry said the “landmark initiative” will boost the economy, enhance national security and support the transition to a clean energy future. “The lack of availability of these minerals or concentration of their extraction or processing in a few countries may lead to supply chain vulnerabilities,” it said. 

Here are five key things to know about the development: 

• The auction will be through a transparent, two-stage online process, wherein the eligible bidder will be selected based on the highest percentage of the value of the mineral despatch quoted by them, it said. 
• Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi will be launching the critical minerals auction process. 
• The sale of tender documents will start on November 29. Details such as the mineral blocks, auction terms and timelines will be available on the MSTC auction platform from 6 pm on the same day, the ministry said. 
• The future global economy will be underpinned by technologies that depend on minerals such as lithium, graphite, cobalt, titanium and rare earth elements (REE). 

India, which meets its requirement of critical and strategy minerals through imports, aims to take its cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil sources to 50 per cent by 2030. 

Meanwhile, the ministry is preparing a strategy for recycling metals and will also work with partner countries to co-develop mineral processing and raw material manufacturing capabilities.

With inputs from agencies