Govt set to auction 90 critical mineral mines

livemint.com:

New Delhi: The central government is set to auction around 90 mines containing critical minerals, such as lithium, which had not been put under the hammer by states for almost four years, a senior government official said on Wednesday. The change in the auction process was initiated soon after the Rajya Sabha passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023, earlier in the day.

With this amendment, the Centre now has the authority to conduct the auctions for these mines, marking a departure from the practice, wherein states were responsible for the auctions. According to the official, only 19 out of the 107 identified mines were auctioned by states in the last four years.

Now, the central government will be taking prompt action to auction 88 mines where auctions were long overdue, he added. “Many states such as Telangana, Kerala, West Bengal and Bihar among others have not done anything on the auction of critical mineral reserves in respective states.

The progress in auctioning these mines have been very slow and the central government will be expediting the auction of these minerals to make India self-reliant in minerals," he added. The official said the Centre will only be auctioning these mines, but will not get a share of the revenue.

“The revenue share from the mines will go to state governments, as was the practice earlier." The critical minerals that the Centre plans to auction include lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite, in a move that aligns with India’s energy transition targets. Of particular significance is lithium, as it is a key component in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, widely used for electric vehicle manufacturing as well as for large-scale battery storage systems