Centre to auction 13 offshore mineral blocks, including 7 off Great Nicobar Island
This would allow for the harvesting of minerals that are ‘critical for infrastructure development...and the green energy transition’, the mines ministry said.
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The Union Ministry of Mines on Thursday launched an e-auction for the first time in India for offshore mineral blocks, including seven seabed blocks off the Great Nicobar Island in the Andaman Sea.
The island is the site of the contentious Rs 72,000-crore Great Nicobar Island Development Project.
The seven blocks to be auctioned are situated on the West Sewell Ridge east of the Great Nicobar Island. In addition, three blocks off the Gujarat coast near Porbandar and three near Kollam, off the Kerala coast, are also up for auction.
“This first tranche of auction includes 13 mineral blocks spanning across the Arabian Sea and Andaman Sea, featuring a mix of minerals, such as construction sand, lime mud and polymetallic nodules and crusts,” the ministry stated in a release.
Also read: On the Great Nicobar island, why the future is fearful
While the blocks near the Great Nicobar Island are rich in polymetallic nodules and crusts, the blocks off the Gujarat coast contain lime mud, an ingredient in cement-based mortars, and those off Kerala contain construction sand.
Polymetallic nodules and crusts are mineral deposits in the ocean that are rich in metals like lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and rare earth elements.
“These minerals are critical for infrastructure development, high-tech manufacturing and the green energy transition,” the ministry added in the...
