Significance of Critical Minerals: Critical minerals are essential for economic development and national mineral security. Their limited availability or dependency on a few countries for extraction and processing can create significant supply chain vulnerabilities. Recognizing this, the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act was amended in 2023, granting the Central Government the authority to provide mineral concessions for 24 critical and strategic minerals.
Previous Auctions: To date, the Central Government has conducted three tranches of auctions for 38 critical and strategic mineral blocks across 14 states and union territories. The preferred bidders for the first tranche, which commenced on 29th November 2023, will be announced during this event.
