Mines Ministry Opens 9th Critical Mineral Auction Tranche

The Ministry of Mines on 5 November 2026 opened two auction rounds together in Goa: the ninth tranche of e-auction for critical and strategic mineral blocks, and the third tranche of auctions for granting Exploration Licences. Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy did the honours, with Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant as chief guest and Minister of State for Coal and Mines Satish Chandra Dubey present. Officials of the Union government, state governments and public sector undertakings attended.

What Tranche IX offers

Twenty critical and strategic mineral blocks go under the hammer in this round. They are spread over eight states, and the minerals on offer run from graphite and glauconite to vanadium, gallium, titanium, tungsten, scandium, potash and halite, bauxite, aluminous laterite, phosphorite-limestone, rare metals and rare earth elements. Such minerals feed clean-energy technology, electric mobility, advanced manufacturing, fertilisers, defence, aerospace and electronics, so the sale is tied directly to India's mineral security and its shift to cleaner energy.

The record so far

The eight rounds before this one placed 100 unique critical and strategic mineral blocks on offer, of which 64 found buyers, a strike rate of 64 per cent. Exploration Licences, created by Section 10BA of the MMDR Act, let private firms invest in searching for the 29 critical and deep-seated minerals listed in the Seventh Schedule even before any mining starts. Eleven such blocks have been sold in the first two rounds; Tranche III puts up eleven more across six states, covering copper, vanadium and rare earth elements.

The reform announced

The government has notified the Mineral (Auction) Third Amendment Rules, 2026 on 16 October 2026. For Part D minerals, the second round of bidding now needs only two technically qualified bidders instead of three, which was a leading reason blocks went unsold. Letters of Intent will be issued automatically on the Unified Mining Portal. Earlier steps in the same direction were the Mineral (Auction) Second Amendment Rules, 2025 and the use of insurance surety bonds.

How the bidding works

Mineral blocks are sold by a two-stage ascending forward auction, and the bidder quoting the highest share of revenue wins. Exploration Licence blocks follow a two-stage descending reverse auction, where the lowest percentage share of the future lessee's revenue wins. Tender documents went on sale on 5 November 2026, may be bought until 1 January 2027, and bids must be in by 7 January 2027.