Centre offers 11 deep-seated mineral blocks for exploration

• ET Bureau

• Updated On Feb 13, 2026 at 08:03 AM IST

According to Reddy, there were just 1,434 exploration projects before 2014. The number has now risen to 4,195.

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India is offering 11 deep-seated mineral blocks across eight states for exploration, Union mines minister G Kishan Reddy said Thursday.

At the launch of the second round of exploration licence (EL) auctions, Reddy said the mineral mix includes five rare earth element (REE) blocks, two vanadium-titanium, two diamond, one lead-zinc and one zirconium, with exploration areas averaging around 187 sq km.

“This strategic auction builds resilient supply chains for future industries and ensures development with sustainability at the core of governance reforms,” the minister said, adding that the focus is on reducing dependence on import for critical minerals.According to Reddy, there were just 1,434 exploration projects before 2014. The number has now risen to 4,195, he said.The exploration licence regime was introduced under the MMDR Amendment Act, 2023, along with the Mineral (Auction) Amendment Rules, 2023. In the first round, 13 exploration blocks were auctioned, of which seven were awarded spanning six states. Minerals included gold, copper, REE, platinum group elements (PGEs), lead and zinc.