NMET-funded 11 mineral blocks auctioned, six under process: Coal minister

The government on Wednesday said as many as 11 mineral blocks funded by the National Mineral Exploration Trust have been auctioned while six other blocks are under the sale process. The National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) was set up in 2015 to boost regional and detailed mineral exploration activities.

“Since inception NMET has funded 270 mineral exploration projects, out of which 162 projects have been completed and the remaining 108 projects are ongoing.

“Out of 162 completed projects, 11 projects have been auctioned by the respective state governments and six projects are in pipeline,” Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Of the 11 projects, three are in Odisha, two each in Rajasthan and Maharashtra, and one each in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka, he said.

Of the six NMET blocks under the auction process, five are in Tamil Nadu and one in Karnataka.

NMET receives proposals from exploration agencies and the proposals are sanctioned by the Executive Committee which meets regularly. “At present, no proposal is pending,” the minister said.