India Launches Second Round of Critical Minerals Block Tenders 18 critical minerals blocks involving tungsten, vanadium, cobalt and nickel will be auctioned

India's mining minister, Pralhad Joshi, revealed on Thursday that a second round of auctions for critical mineral blocks, worth 30 trillion rupees (about $362 billion), will be launched, according to the Mining.com website, citing Reuters. Eighteen critical minerals including tungsten, vanadium, cobalt and nickel will be auctioned, according to the government announcement, in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, among others. Of these, 17 blocks are multi-licensed, and one is a mining license. The comprehensive licence includes exploration and development. Joshi added that five states – Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan – will auction off critical mineral exploration blocks separately. Separately, he revealed that the first round of auctions, which the government launched in November last year, received 56 applications from institutions, including Vedanta Ltd, Coal India, Shree Cement, Ola Electric, Dalmia group and Jindal Power. The first second round of auctions will take place in mid-March, and the winning bidders will be announced in mid-April. Joshi added that there will be no more coal shortages in India this year. Joshi's remarks came a week after Coal India announced that its coal production target for FY2025 would be lowered due to ample inventories.