Ministry of Mines to Launch Second Tranche of Exploration Licence Auction and Unveil GSI Digital Portal
The Ministry of Mines is set to launch the second tranche of Exploration Licence block auctions in New Delhi, alongside unveiling GSI’s AI-enabled digital portal to boost transparency and critical mineral exploration.
February 12, 2026. By Mrinmoy Dey
This is an important milestone in India’s ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening mineral exploration and ensuring long-term mineral security, particularly for critical and deep-seated minerals, the Ministry of Mines stated.
The launch event will be held in the presence of the Union Minister of Coal and Mines, G. Kishan Reddy, along with senior officials of the Ministry of Mines and representatives from State Governments, industry, and other key stakeholders.
On the occasion, the Ministry will also unveil the Next Generation Digital Portal of the Geological Survey of India (GSI). The portal brings together data acquisition, analysis, visualisation and dissemination on a single cloud-enabled platform.
Equipped with AI/ML-based tools and interoperability with the National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR), the portal is expected to significantly enhance transparency, efficiency and data-driven decision-making in the mineral exploration ecosystem, stated the Ministry.
As part of the launch, a comprehensive roadshow programme has been planned for stakeholders with the Exploration Licence framework, the auction methodology and the incentives available to explorers. The programme will include presentations on the e-auction process through the MSTC portal, auction rules, and the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) scheme, which provides partial reimbursement of eligible exploration expenditure. An open house session will also be organised to address queries and suggestions from stakeholders, said the Ministry.
The 2nd Tranche of Exploration Licence auctions builds upon the successful rollout of the first tranche. The 1st Tranche, comprising 13 Exploration Licence blocks covering critical minerals such as Rare Earth Elements (REE), Zinc, Diamond, Copper and Platinum Group Elements (PGE), was jointly launched on March 13, 2025, in Goa by Union Minister of Coal and Mines, G. Kishan Reddy, and Chief Minister of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant.
please contact: contact@energetica-india.net.
Ravi Rao
Founder and MD
We Aim to Build 5 GW Capacity Across the Entire Solar Value Chain, Says Future Solar's Ravi Rao
Manish Gupta
Director – Technical Sales & Marketing
Solar to BESS: Reliability Begins with Advanced Sealants, Explains Manish Gupta, Fasto Adhesive
Anand Jain
Founder
Anand Jain of Aerem Solutions on Scaling Solar, Storage, and Finance for Sustainable India
Amit Kumar Mittal
CEO
JIRE CEO Amit Kumar Mittal Explains Rising Role of Energy Storage and Green Hydrogen in India
Rajat Shrivastava
General Manager – Marketing
Icon Solar Modules Are Engineered for India’s Harsh Conditions, Says Rajat Shrivastava