Union Minister of Coal and Mines, G. Kishan Reddy along with Minister of State for Coal and Mines, Satish Chandra Dubey today launched the 4th tranche of auction of critical and strategic minerals blocks at a programme in New Delhi. The 4th tranche of the auction included 21 blocks of critical minerals. Out of these 21 blocks, 11 are fresh blocks, spanning six States, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Addressing the programme, Mr. Reddy informed that the first tranche of the auction of Offshore Mineral Blocks will be launched within 100 days of the new government.
Ministry of Mines said that these blocks contain a variety of minerals including Graphite, Glauconite, Phosphorite, Potash, Nickel, Phosphate and Rare Earth Elements (REE). The Ministry further said that as part of this tranche, 10 critical mineral blocks are on offer as the ‘second attempt’ blocks of previous tranches of auction. These 10 blocks are located in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu and have important critical minerals like Tungsten, Vanadium, Graphite, Glauconite, Cobalt and Nickel.
Our correspondent reports that Mr. Reddy also handed over certificates to two newly Notified Private Exploration Agencies in the programme. This is in line with the aim to increase the pace of exploration in the country and to bring advanced technology in the exploration of minerals. On the occasion, the Minister also announced a scheme for partial reimbursement of exploration expenses of the Exploration Licence holders. Under the scheme, exploration expenditure of up to 50 per cent of cost subject to the upper limit of 20 Crore rupees will be reimbursed.
