India does not plan to proceed with auctioning deep-sea mining rights due to a lack of technological preparedness and interest from potential bidders, reported Reuters.
In November 2024, the country announced the maiden auction of 13 offshore mineral blocks, including three lime mud blocks, three construction sand blocks, and seven polymetallic nodules blocks in the first tranche. However, last December, after repeated extensions of the timeline to invite bids, the government annulled the auction due to a lack of interest.
The first tranche of offshore minerals was worth more than 1.5 trillion rupees.
“The impression we have is that it is not economically feasible for companies,” one of the news agency’s sources said. In addition, the process requires specialised mining, and Indian companies lack the technology, the sources added.
Indian authorities may explore the option of auctioning different blocks to test interest among miners, one of the sources said, adding it would take some time to come up with fresh assessments of these blocks.
Reuters reported that New Delhi has seen only limited success with its onshore critical minerals auction, as bidders have secured just about 60% of the 76 available blocks.
Source: Reuters