Centre puts 19 critical mineral mines on the block

The centre launched the seventh tranche of e-auction of critical and strategic mineral blocks Monday. Addressing the event, Union Coal and Mines Minister, G Kishan Reddy said, “We have successfully auctioned 46 blocks across six tranches and we are now expanding participation further by including blocks explored by new agencies.”

The blocks on offer include Rare Earth Elements (REE), Tungsten, Lithium, Graphite, Vanadium, Titanium, Glauconite, and Rock Phosphate, which are critical for sectors including clean energy technologies, advanced manufacturing, fertilizers, and strategic applications. They are spread across Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Uttarakhand.

“While we unlock natural resources, we must ensure that the benefits reach local communities,” the minister said while underscoring the importance of District Mineral Foundations which are operational in 656 districts across 23 states.


According to official estimates, nearly 75% of the total DMF corpus is concentrated in Aspirational Districts.

Coal price controlled

“We have taken steps to ensure coal prices do not go up,” Reddy said Monday. He said states have been directed to curb any instances of profiteering by open market coal retailers.

Smaller coal users such as restaurants, and laundry pressers purchase coal from unregulated and localised vendors. The minister said India currently has around 80 days of coal stock at power plants and there are sufficient domestic production to meet the country’s requirements.