Centre launches new auctions for critical minerals and exploration licences

The Ministry of Mines launched the ninth auction round for critical and strategic mineral blocks and the third round for exploration licences on 5 November 2026. Union Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy opened the rounds at the mining ministers’ conference in Goa. The ninth round offers 20 blocks. Examples include graphite in Andhra Pradesh, tungsten in Rajasthan and rare earth elements in West Bengal. The government opened sales of tender documents on the same day.

The Mineral (Auction) Third Amendment Rules, 2026, notified on 16 October 2026, lowered the threshold for the second stage of bidding for Part D minerals from three technically qualified bidders to two. The critical mineral block auction is a forward auction in which the highest quoted share of revenue wins. The exploration licence round uses a reverse auction, in which the lowest quoted share of the future lessee’s revenue share wins.

Facts to remember

• Launch: 5 November 2026 in Goa; the ninth critical mineral round offers 20 blocks.
• The revised threshold is two technically qualified bidders for the second stage of auctions for Part D minerals.
• The tender purchase deadline is 1 January 2027 at 5 pm IST, and bids close on 7 January 2027 at 5 pm IST.
• Section 11D concerns central auctions for mining leases or composite licences for minerals in Part D of the First Schedule.

Background

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, treats an exploration licence as a separate concession. Section 10BA provides for its grant by auction for minerals in the Seventh Schedule. Exploration helps determine whether an area contains mineral deposits. An exploration licence does not itself give its holder a mining lease, so the two rounds should be read as offers of different rights.

Why it matters for exams

For CLAT Economy and UGC-NET Law, revise mineral concessions, delegated auction rules and the distinction between exploration and extraction rights.