India's mine block operationalisation picks up

The pace of mineral block operationalisation and auction has improved in the past five years according to data shared by the mines ministry. An official statement said 36 mineral blocks, including 28 greenfield blocks and eight brownfield blocks, have been operationalised during fiscal 2025-26.

Comparably, 58 blocks comprising 20 greenfield and 38 brownfield blocks were operationalised from fiscal 2015-16 to 2024-25.

This information was shared during the ninth monthly review meeting of auctioned blocks chaired by Secretary mines Piyush Goyal. The meeting focused on accelerating reforms in the mining sector, enhancing domestic mineral production, and ensuring timely operationalisation of auctioned mineral blocks.


During the meeting, it was highlighted that 108 mineral blocks were auctioned during from FY 2015-16 to FY 2020-21. “The pace of auctions witnessed a significant increase, with 364 mineral blocks successfully auctioned between FY 2021-22 to FY 2024-25, averaging about 90 blocks per year,” an official statement said.

In FY 2025-26 alone, a record 212 mineral blocks have been successfully auctioned, the statement added, noting this marked “the highest number of mineral block auctions conducted in a single financial year since the commencement of the auction regime.”