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Govt cancels auction of 3 crucial mineral blocks, including J&K lithium mine | News

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The auction is part of the government’s efforts to create cleaner alternatives and become self-sufficient in essential mineral supplies.

lithium
Representative image: Lithium mines

Press confidence of India New Delhi

The government has scrapped the auction of three crucial mineral blocks, including a lithium mine in Jammu and Kashmir, under the third tranche of mine sale, citing lower than required number of bidders.

The auction is part of the government’s drive for cleaner alternatives and self-sufficiency in essential mineral reserves.

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The three blocks are the Salal-Haimna lithium, titanium and bauxite (aluminium laterite) block in Jammu and Kashmir, the Muskaniya-Gareriatola-Barwari potash block in Jharkhand and the Kurunjakulam graphite block in Tamil Nadu.

The auction was cancelled because “the required number of bids as per the mineral auction rules were not received,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Mines.

The ministry put seven critical mineral blocks up for sale in the third round of auctions on March 14. The blocks that received less than three bids in the first tranche were notified in this round.

These seven blocks cover important minerals such as glauconite, graphite, nickel, PGE, potassium, lithium and titanium and are spread across the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Last month, the government cancelled the auction of 14 blocks of critical minerals that had been launched in the second tranche. In the first tranche of the sale, the Centre had cancelled the auction for 13 of the 20 blocks that had gone up for sale due to a lacklustre response.

The Centre last month launched the fourth round of auctions of crucial and strategic mineral blocks, offering 21 mines across states including Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

Of these 21 blocks, 11 are new, spread across Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. These blocks contain a variety of minerals including graphite, glauconite, phosphorite, potash, nickel, PGE, phosphate and rare earth elements (REE).