The Ministry of Mines will launch the first-ever tranche auction of critical and strategic minerals on Wednesday. Union Minister for Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi will initiate the process of auctioning 20 blocks of crucial and strategic minerals, the ministry said in a statement.
“The details of the mineral blocks, auction terms and timelines will be made available at 6pm on the auction platform of MSTC – a Mini Ratna Category I Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel. November 29, 2023,” the ministry said.
The auction process will be conducted online through a two-stage ascending auction process whereby eligible bidders will be selected based on the highest percentage of their declared mineral shipment value.
The lack of availability of these minerals or the concentration of their extraction or processing in a few countries can lead to vulnerabilities in the supply chain. “This is a groundbreaking initiative that will boost our economy, enhance national security and support our transition to a clean energy future,” the ministry said.
The Union government on June 28 released its first list of critical minerals, which identified 30 critical minerals crucial for the country’s economic growth and technological development last month. Currently, demand for critical minerals is mostly met through imports.
The government had in March 2022 fixed royalty rates for platinum group metals (PGM) at 4 percent, molybdenum at 7.5 percent, glauconite and potash at 2.5 percent. On October 12, 2023, the government set royalty rates for lithium at 3 percent, niobium 3 percent and rare earth elements 1 percent.
These are some of the minerals that are likely to be auctioned.
The future global economy will be underpinned by technologies that rely on minerals such as lithium, graphite, cobalt, titanium and rare earth elements (REE).
India has committed to source 50 percent of its cumulative installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030.
Such an ambitious energy transition plan will boost demand for electric cars, wind and solar energy projects and battery storage systems, increasing demand for these crucial minerals.
Critical minerals also meet the needs of sectors such as renewable energy, defense, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, high-tech electronics, telecommunications, transportation and the creation of gigafactories, etc.