NEW DELHI: The government has cancelled the auction of 11 critical mineral blocks in the fourth round due to poor response.While no bids were received for four blocks, the remaining seven mines got less than three technically qualified bidders, according to the annulment notice.The four blocks which include tungsten and glauconite, are located in the states of Chhattisgarh and Arunachal Pradesh.”Since there were nil bids received the auction process for four mineral blocks stands annulled,” the notice said.Critical minerals, such as cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel and rare earths, play crucial roles in the production of clean energy technologies, ranging from wind turbines to electric vehicles.”Since there were less than three technically qualified bidders the auction process of these seven mineral blocks stands annulled,” the notice said.The government had earlier cancelled the auction of three critical mineral blocks in the third round, 14 blocks in the second round, and 14 in the first tranche of critical minerals as the response was lukewarm.
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