NEW DELHI, Feb 29 (Reuters) - India will auction 18 critical mineral blocks as a part of its second round of mining auctions, a source aware of the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

Oil-to-metals conglomerate Vedanta Ltd (VDAN.NS) , opens new tab, state-owned miner Coal India (COAL.NS) , opens new tab, Shree Cement (SHCM.NS) , opens new tab and e-scooter maker Ola Electric have emerged as bidders after the first round of auction for 20 blocks concluded on Feb. 20, the source said.

The source declined to be identified as the details were not public. The companies and India's federal Ministry of Mines did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

The first round of auctions was launched in November last year, in a move to drive the country's clean energy push.

India last year listed 30 critical minerals, including lithium, copper, vanadium, graphite and rare earth elements.

The source said New Delhi is also in talks with South Korea, Bolivia, Japan and the United Kingdom for lithium processing technologies.

The government has also asked private companies, primarily battery manufacturers, to acquire lithium blocks overseas, the source added.

Lithium is an important raw material used to make electric vehicle batteries.

Separately, the Indian cabinet has approved royalty rate for 12 critical and strategic minerals at 2%-4%. These minerals include cobalt, titanium, gallium and tungsten among others.

https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-auction-18-critical-mineral-blocks-second-round-source-says-2024-02-29/