New Delhi: The Ministry of Mines will launch the auction of two offshore mineral blocks in the Andaman Sea on Thursday. The launch comes days after the ministry changed the auction rules to make it easier for an auction to go through on its first attempt. The blocks will be offered for grant of composite licences, which cover both exploration and mining.
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In a statement issued on Wednesday, the ministry described the auction as "an important step towards unlocking India's offshore mineral potential and strengthening the country's long-term mineral resource security."
The rule change came on September 24, when the ministry notified the Offshore Areas Mineral (Auction) Amendment Rules, 2026. The amendment lowers the minimum number of technically qualified bidders needed in a first-attempt auction from three to two. Before the change, an auction was annulled if fewer than three bidders qualified. It will now be annulled only if fewer than two do. The ministry said the change was "crucial to improve the success rate of auctions in the first attempt which would help in reducing delays."
Three days before the amendment, the ministry had opened two blocks in the Andaman Sea for exploration. A gazette notification dated September 21 declared them available for composite licences to explore and mine polymetallic nodules and crusts. These are seabed deposits containing cobalt, copper, manganese and nickel. The first block, West Sewell Ridge-01 off Great Nicobar Island, covers 1,000 square kilometres. The second, Sewell Rise-01, covers 632 square kilometres.
This is the government's second attempt at auctioning offshore minerals. India's first offshore mineral auction was launched on November 28, 2024, with 13 blocks. Seven of them were polymetallic nodule and crust blocks in the West Sewell Ridge area off Great Nicobar. The other six were construction sand and lime mud blocks in the Arabian Sea. The deadlines were extended, but the auction drew too little bidder interest. The government cancelled it in December 2025.
The Wednesday statement says the auction will be conducted under the Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 2002, and the Offshore Areas Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2024, "as amended from time to time." The ministry's power to run these auctions dates from 2023, when the Act was amended. That change, the ministry said, enabled "transparent and competitive allocation of offshore mineral resources."
The ministry tied the auction to demand from clean energy and technology. "Minerals such as cobalt, nickel, manganese, copper and rare earth elements are important inputs for electric mobility, renewable energy systems, advanced electronics and strategic industries," the statement said. On that basis, it said, developing offshore resources "can therefore contribute to India's objectives of self-reliance, resource security and sustainable economic growth."
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The ministry expects the auction to "encourage systematic exploration, attract investment and promote the adoption of advanced technologies for offshore mineral exploration and development." It also said the auction is expected to "facilitate greater private sector participation and technological innovation in an emerging area with significant potential for meeting future industrial and strategic requirements."