The government is planning to begin the auction of offshore mineral blocks in the next two to three months and around 10 such mines are likely to be auctioned in the first phase, coal and mines minister G Kishan Reddy said on Thursday. The government amended the Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 2002, to provide an auction route for awarding production leases for offshore minerals.

Offshore minerals are located deep within the earth's crust and are difficult to extract compared to onshore minerals.

Speaking to media after the inauguration of mines ministry pavilion at India International Trade Fair, Reddy said the government plans "to auction offshore minerals blocks in two to three months".

India's offshore mineral reserves include gold, diamond, copper, nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, and rare earth elements.

The offshore auctions will help increase the availability of these minerals in India and reduce dependence on imports.

The minister further said three stages of exploration of the lithium block in Jammu and Kashmir has been done and the work for the fourth stage has started.

The government had earlier scrapped the auction of lithium mines in Jammu and Kashmir due to a lower-than-required number of bidders.

Around 5.9 million tonnes of lithium reserves were found for the first time in the country in Jammu and Kashmir in 2023.

Lithium is the single most important critical mineral for the energy transition, a fundamental component of lithium-ion batteries, which power electric vehicles and battery energy storage systems.

With regard to the five lithium blocks in Argentina, he said the exploration work has started in these mines and added that "after the exploration of these blocks production will begin."