New Delhi: Piyush Goyal, Secretary, Ministry of Mines on Monday urged closer coordination between the Centre and state governments to expedite statutory clearances, facilitate early commencement of mining operations, and ensure timely production from auctioned blocks.
Goyal chaired a monthly review meeting with senior ministry officials and Category-A mineral bearing States to review the progress of mineral block auctions and operationalisation across the country, an official statement said.
The meeting focused on accelerating reforms in the mining sector, enhancing domestic mineral production, and ensuring timely operationalisation of auctioned mineral blocks.
In FY 2025-26, a record 212 mineral blocks were auctioned — the highest in any financial year since auctions began.
Auction of 22 critical and strategic mineral blocks were among them, reflecting the government’s continued focus on securing critical mineral resources essential for India’s economic growth and clean energy transition.
Since the auction regime began in 2015, 108 mineral blocks were auctioned through FY 2020-21, the statement from the Ministry of Mines said.
The pace of auctions accelerated significantly, with 364 mineral blocks successfully auctioned between FY22 to FY25, averaging about 90 blocks per year.
The meeting also reviewed the operationalisation status of auctioned blocks and found that in FY26, a total of 36 mineral blocks, including 28 greenfield blocks and 8 brownfield blocks, have been operationalised.
As many as 58 blocks comprising 20 greenfield and 38 brownfield blocks operationalised during the entire period from FY16 to FY25.
Secretary also underscored the importance of critical mineral development in achieving the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and strengthening India’s mineral security.
Recent surveys have identified substantial reserves of Rare Earth Elements (REEs), Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREEs) and critical rare metals across multiple blocks in Rajasthan’s Siwana Ring Complex.
The Union Ministry of Mines has already assigned technical evaluation work for three blocks to specialised agencies, signalling that exploration has moved beyond preliminary assessments.
(IANS)
