Critical & Strategic Minerals Auction: Pre-bid Conference on Dec 22

New Delhi, Dec 21 (PTI) The pre-bid conference for the first round of auction of critical and strategic minerals will be held on Friday, an official statement said.

This conference will be held in hybrid mode. The government has put on sale 20 critical and strategic mineral blocks in the first tranche of the auction.

"Government of India will be conducting a Pre-bid Conference for the 1st Tranche of auction of critical and strategic minerals on 22nd December 2023 at Dr Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi...in hybrid mode," the mines ministry said in a statement.

The conference which will be chaired by Mines Joint Secretary Veena Kumari Dermal will help the industry, potential bidders, and various other stakeholders, to reach out to the Ministry of Mines for resolution of relevant queries.

The last date for responses to queries is January 5.

The government on November 29 announced the launch of the first tranche of auction of critical and strategic mineral blocks. According to the auction calendar, the commencement of sale of tender documents started on November 29, 2023.

Pre-bid conference with prospective bidders is scheduled on December 22, 2023, and the last date of sale of Tender Document is January 16, 2024, and the last date of bid submission is January 22, 2024. Thereafter, e-auction will commence for selection of preferred bidder.

The entire auction process will be completed within 103 days from the date of launch of auction.

The Centre is committed to ensuring successful auction of critical mineral blocks, the ministry said. The minerals which are on auction are Glauconite, Graphite, Potash, Nickel, PGE, Lithium, REE, Molybdenum, and Phosphorite.