NEW DELHI: The Centre has cancelled auction for 13 of 20 blocks on offer in the first round of critical mineral bids following tepid response. Out of the 13 mines, two got no bids and 11 attracted less than three bids each.
“It has been decided to return the bid security to bidders for 11 mineral blocks that got less than three bids each,” an official aware of the development said. These blocks which received poor response hold glauconite, nickel, chromium and platinum group elements (PGE), potash, nickel and copper, molybdenum ore, graphite, and lithium, titanium and bauxite (aluminous laterite). They are spread across Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
