On Wednesday, the Ministry of Mines will hold the first-ever tranche auction of vital and strategic minerals. The Union Minister of Coal, Mines, and Parliamentary Affairs, Pralhad Joshi, will begin the process of auctioning off 20 blocks of important and strategic minerals, according to a statement from the ministry.

"The details of the mineral blocks, auction terms, and timelines will be made available on the auction platform of MSTC — a Mini Ratna Category-I Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel — at 6 pm on November 29, 2023," the ministry stated in a press release.

On Wednesday, the government will hold the first-ever sale of important mineral blocks. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Mines will hold the first-ever tranche auction of vital and strategic minerals. The Union Minister of Coal, Mines, and Parliamentary Affairs, Pralhad Joshi, will begin the process of auctioning off 20 blocks of important and strategic minerals, according to a statement from the ministry.

"The details of the mineral blocks, auction terms, and timelines will be made available on the auction platform of MSTC — a Mini Ratna Category-I Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel — at 6 pm on November 29, 2023," the ministry stated in a press release. In March 2022, the government set royalty rates for platinum group metals (PGM) at 4%, molybdenum at 7.5%, glauconite at 2.5%, and potash at 2.5%. On October 12, 2023, the government set royalty rates for lithium at 3%, niobium at 3%, and rare earth elements at 1%.

These are some of the minerals that are expected to be auctioned.

The future world economy will be supported by minerals such as lithium, graphite, cobalt, titanium, and rare earth elements (REE). India has pledged to reach 50% of total installed electric power capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030.

Such a bold energy transition strategy is expected to increase demand for electric vehicles, wind and solar energy installations, and battery storage systems, hence raising demand for these important minerals. Critical minerals are also used in areas such as renewable energy, defense, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, high-tech electronics, telecommunications, transportation, and the construction of gigafactories, among others.