The government has launched the auction of two offshore mineral blocks in the Andaman Sea, seeking to tap deposits of cobalt, nickel, manganese, copper and rare earth elements as the country moves to expand domestic supplies of minerals critical to electric mobility, clean-energy technologies and advanced manufacturing.
Keshav Chandra, secretary, ministry of mines, on Thursday virtually launched the auction of Sewell Rise-01 and West Sewell Ridge-01 for grant of composite licences.
The blocks are among the offshore areas being brought into the country’s mineral exploration framework as the government seeks to widen the resource base beyond conventional terrestrial deposits. Sewell Rise-01 is located in the southern part of Sewell Rise, while West Sewell Ridge-01 lies off Great Nicobar Island.
Chandra described offshore mineral resources as a new frontier for the country’s mineral sector and said systematic exploration could complement efforts to increase domestic mineral availability.
