The government has cancelled the auction of 11 critical and strategic mineral blocks after receiving a poor investor response and failing to attract a sufficient number of qualified bidders. The decision represents a setback to plans to ramp up domestic exploration and production of critical minerals amid global supply chain disruptions and rising demand for materials used in clean energy and advanced technologies. The mines ministry issued an annulment notice setting out the reasons for the cancellations. The annulment notice indicated that the auction process for five mineral blocks was cancelled because no bids were received and that the auction of five further blocks was annulled because there were fewer than three technically qualified bidders. The auction process for Beku Rare Metal Block in West Bengal was also annulled. The sixth tranche of auctions, launched in September last year, had offered 23 critical mineral blocks spread across 13 states. The package included 19 composite licence (CL) blocks and four mining lease (ML) blocks located in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana and West Bengal. The blocks contain strategic minerals such as lithium, cobalt, rare earth elements (REE), niobium, tantalum and vanadium. These minerals are central to manufacturing batteries, electronics and other high tech applications. So far, six rounds of auctions have been completed, with 46 critical and strategic mineral blocks sold, according to the mines ministry. Officials described critical minerals as pivotal for the country’s economic development and mineral security and said global demand had been driven by the transition to clean energy and advanced technologies. The limited availability and geographical concentration of such minerals were said to pose challenges to resilient supply chains worldwide and the ministry said earlier rounds had also seen cancellations.