The Ministry of Mines will launch the second tranche of auctions for exploration licence blocks. The ministry will also unveil the next generation digital portal of the geological survey of India, a cloud-enabled platform integrating data acquisition, analysis, visualisation and dissemination, with artificial intelligence and machine learning tools and interoperability with the National Geoscience Data Repository.
A stakeholder roadshow has also been planned covering the exploration licence framework, auction methodology, the e-auction process through the portal, auction rules and incentives under the National Mineral Exploration Trust scheme for partial reimbursement of eligible exploration expenditure. The second tranche follows the first tranche launched on March 13, 2025, which comprised 13 exploration licence blocks covering critical minerals including rare earth elements, zinc, diamond, copper and platinum group elements.