56 critical and strategic mineral blocks auctioned till date: Government

The Ministry of Mines has completed the auction of 56 critical and strategic mineral blocks across seven tranches, achieving an overall success rate of appro...

What Happened

The Ministry of Mines has completed the auction of 56 critical and strategic mineral blocks across seven tranches, achieving an overall success rate of approximately 63%.
The auctioned blocks include minerals such as graphite, rare earth elements (REE), vanadium, titanium, glauconite, and rock phosphate.
Alongside the block auctions, the Ministry also completed the second tranche of Exploration Licence (EL) auctions, marking a significant expansion of the EL mechanism introduced through legislative amendments.
The government has positioned these auctions as central to reducing India's 100% import dependence on several critical minerals including lithium and cobalt, which are essential inputs for electric vehicle batteries, clean energy storage, and advanced manufacturing.

Static Topic Bridges

Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 — Amendments for Critical Minerals

The MMDR Act, 1957, is the principal legislation governing mining in India. It has undergone significant amendments, with the MMDR Amendment Act, 2021 and the MMDR Amendment Act, 2023 being the most consequential for critical minerals. The 2021 amendment removed 12 minerals from the list of atomic minerals (previously reserved exclusively for government exploitation), opening them to private sector auctions. The 2023 amendment went further by introducing the Exploration Licence (EL) mechanism for critical and deep-seated minerals, and added a Seventh Schedule to the Act.

MMDR Act originally enacted in 1957 (Act No. 67 of 1957); administered by the Ministry of Mines.
MMDR Amendment Act, 2021: removed lithium, beryllium, niobium, titanium, tantalum, and zirconium (among others) from the Atomic Minerals list, enabling private sector participation.
MMDR Amendment Act, 2023 (effective 17 August 2023): introduced the Exploration Licence (EL) for 29 minerals specified in the newly inserted Seventh Schedule; EL permits reconnaissance and prospecting operations; granted by auction under Central Government oversight.
Part D of Schedule I of the MMDR Act lists 24 critical and strategic minerals whose blocks are auctioned by the Central Government (not states), a deviation from the standard pattern where states auction non-atomic mineral blocks.
Critical minerals in Part D include: lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, vanadium, rare earth elements, titanium, molybdenum, platinum group elements, selenium, tellurium, indium, rhenium, tungsten, and others.
The MMDR Amendment Act, 2025 (effective 1 September 2025) further streamlined rules including provisions for contiguous area inclusion in mining leases.

Connection to this news: The 56 blocks auctioned span minerals listed in Part D of Schedule I; the completion of the second EL tranche represents the operationalisation of the Seventh Schedule mechanism introduced in 2023.

Exploration Licence (EL) Mechanism — How It Differs from Mining Leases

The Exploration Licence is a distinct concession from a Mining Lease (ML). While an ML gives the holder the right to extract minerals commercially, an EL permits only reconnaissance and prospecting — the pre-commercial stages of mineral development. India's critical minerals regime uses this instrument to attract risk capital into early-stage exploration, where geological uncertainty is high and returns are long-dated.

EL is granted by auction for minerals in the Seventh Schedule of the MMDR Act (29 minerals including critical and deep-seated varieties).
The Ministry of Mines (not state governments) has been empowered to auction EL blocks directly under Section 20A of the MMDR Act (via an order dated 21 October 2024).
EL holders may undertake reconnaissance and prospecting but NOT extraction; successful EL holders have a preferential right to transition to Mining Lease after prospecting.
Exploration phases: Reconnaissance → Prospecting → Feasibility → Mining; the EL covers the first two stages.
The mechanism is designed to create a pipeline of exploration-stage projects that can eventually be converted to production-stage mining leases.
India's first EL auction tranche was conducted in 2024; the second tranche was completed alongside the 56-block auction now reported.

Connection to this news: The second EL tranche completion signals that India is building a two-track approach: immediate production from auctioned blocks where minerals are already identified, and longer-term pipeline building through EL for unproven but prospective geological blocks.

National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) — Policy Context

The National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), announced in the Union Budget 2024-25 and approved by the Cabinet in January 2025, is India's overarching framework for securing critical mineral supply chains. It runs from FY 2024-25 to FY 2030-31 and coordinates domestic exploration, overseas acquisitions, recycling, and R&D under a single mission umbrella.

Nodal ministry: Ministry of Mines.
Government outlay: ₹16,300 crore (approximately USD 1.9 billion) over the mission period; additional ₹18,000 crore expected from public sector undertakings (PSUs).
India's import dependence on critical minerals: 100% for lithium, cobalt, and nickel; China accounts for 70–80% of India's lithium and lithium-ion imports; graphite import dependence on China: 42.4%.
The mission covers six pillars: domestic exploration, overseas mineral asset acquisition, critical mineral recycling, R&D, trade agreements (with Australia, Argentina, Canada, USA under Minerals Security Partnership — MSP), and regulatory reforms.
Minerals Security Partnership (MSP): India joined in 2023; a US-led coalition of 14 countries to coordinate critical mineral supply chains for clean energy.
KABIL (Khanij Bidesh India Ltd) — a JV of NALCO, HCL, and MECL — is the designated PSU for overseas acquisition of critical mineral assets; has signed MOUs with Argentina and Australia.

Connection to this news: The 56-block auction is the domestic exploration pillar of the NCMM in action — the government is creating a domestic production pipeline to reduce the import dependence documented in mission objectives.

India's Critical Mineral Geography — Key Deposits and States

Critical minerals are not uniformly distributed. India has identified significant prospective zones but faces a structural deficit in several key minerals relative to demand projections.

Rare Earth Elements (REE): India holds ~6% of global REE reserves, concentrated in Odisha (Brahmapur), Jharkhand, and Tamil Nadu (coastal placers); India's rare earth production is modest relative to reserves due to processing challenges (China dominates REE processing globally with ~85% market share).
Lithium: India's first confirmed domestic lithium reserve (5.9 million tonnes — among the world's largest) was discovered in Reasi district, Jammu & Kashmir in 2023 by GSI; quality and commercial viability still under assessment.
Graphite: Deposits in Jharkhand, Odisha, and Arunachal Pradesh; critical for EV battery anodes.
Vanadium: Deposits identified in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Titanium (ilmenite): Coastal placer deposits in Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Kerala (under atomic minerals framework historically).
Geological Survey of India (GSI), established 1851 under Ministry of Mines, is the primary prospecting agency.

Connection to this news: The 56 auctioned blocks include graphite, REE, vanadium, titanium, and rock phosphate — minerals where India has identified prospective geology but has lacked private investment in development, a gap the auction mechanism directly targets.

Key Facts & Data

Total critical and strategic mineral blocks auctioned (cumulative): 56 (across 7 tranches)
Auction success rate: ~63%
Minerals in the 56 auctioned blocks: graphite, rare earth elements, vanadium, titanium, glauconite, rock phosphate
Second tranche of Exploration Licence (EL) auctions: also completed concurrently
Critical minerals in MMDR Schedule I Part D: 24 minerals
Minerals in Seventh Schedule (eligible for EL): 29 minerals
MMDR Amendment Act 2023: effective 17 August 2023 (introduced EL mechanism)
National Critical Mineral Mission outlay: ₹16,300 crore (FY 2024-25 to 2030-31)
India's lithium import dependence: 100%; lithium reserve discovered in J&K (Reasi): 5.9 million tonnes
China's share of India's lithium/lithium-ion imports: 70–80%
Minerals Security Partnership (MSP): India joined 2023; 14-country coalition
KABIL: JV of NALCO, HCL, and MECL for overseas critical mineral acquisition
GSI (Geological Survey of India): established 1851, under Ministry of Mines