Mines Ministry to launch seventh tranche of critical, strategic mineral auctions on March 23

Mines Ministry to auction 19 critical mineral blocks on March 23, expanding strategic resources for clean energy and technology sectors.

The Union Ministry of Mines would be launching the seventh tranche of auction of critical and strategic mineral blocks on Monday (March 23, 2026), it informed. The latest tranche would offer 19 blocks across several states under both mining lease and composite licenses.

About the composition of the blocks, the Ministry stated, “These blocks comprise a diverse basket of minerals essential for sectors such as clean energy, advanced technologies, fertilizers and strategic industries.”

The auctions would follow a two-stage ascending auction process, wherein the highest bidder would be chosen based on the “highest percentage of value of mineral dispatched quoted”.

As on date, the Mines Ministry has successfully auctioned off 46 critical and strategic minerals across the six tranches of auctions.

Critical minerals are important for the country's economic development and mineral security.

The global transition towards clean energy and advanced technologies has significantly increased the demand for minerals, including lithium, graphite, rare earth elements, tungsten, vanadium, titanium, and other rare metals.