The government offers 20 critical mineral blocks in the eighth tranche of the auction | Today’s news
New Delhi: Union Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy on Wednesday launched the eighth round of critical mineral auctions, offering 20 blocks, including 13 newly identified and seven that remained unsold in previous rounds.
The mineral portfolio includes molybdenum, graphite, glauconite, rare earth elements (REE), vanadium, gallium, titanium, tungsten, phosphorite, potash, lithium, cesium and rubidium. These minerals are essential for clean energy, advanced manufacturing, fertilizers, defense and other strategic industries.
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In the last seven tranches, the mining ministry successfully auctioned 56 of the 88 critical and strategic mineral blocks on offer.
The minister said in a statement that India is pursuing an “integrated approach that combines policy reforms, technological advancement, value addition, sustainability and international cooperation to build a future-ready mining ecosystem”.
Mining Week in India
Reddy on Wednesday also announced India Mining Week 2026, the country’s largest mining and minerals conference exhibition to be held from November 15 to 17 in New Delhi.
India Mining Week 2026 is expected to attract more than 25,000 professionals and decision makers, more than 500 exhibitors and technology providers, among others.
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Discussions during the three-day event will focus on critical topics including mineral security, exploration, digitization, automation, mine safety, sustainability, critical minerals, resource efficiency, innovation and the future of mining in an evolving global environment.
Mineral security
India is focused on developing its critical mineral ecosystem, promoting both domestic mining and global mining.
In May, India and the US signed a framework for the mining and processing of critical minerals and rare earths, even as the Quad – an alliance of the US, Japan, Australia and India – decided to promote the development of critical mineral supply chains.
The focus on mining and refining critical minerals also follows last year’s disruption to global supply chains when China blocked exports of rare earth magnets in April 2025. The Indo-US framework aims to ensure the extraction, processing and scrapping of critical minerals and rare earths.
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India is also a member of the Mineral Security Partnership, a coalition of 14 countries led by the US and the European Union, which aims to strengthen critical mineral supply chains worldwide through public and private sector investment. This coalition, which India joined in 2023, aims to diversify critical mineral resources.
Critical mineral security is gaining importance as nations seek to harness their resources amid geopolitical uncertainties and trade wars.
In its July 2025 Sustainable Development Goals Pulse report, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) noted that minerals needed for the energy transition – including copper, zinc, germanium, tin and nickel – face higher export restrictions compared to other traded critical minerals.
