New Delhi, Dec 29 (PTI) The government on Friday said that as many as 76 mineral blocks have been auctioned in the current year.

Of the 76 mineral blocks, 30 mineral blocks were auctioned for mining lease and the remaining 46 were sold as a composite licence.

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Mining lease means a lease granted for the purpose of undertaking mining operations, while, composite licence is a two-stage operating right granted for the purpose of undertaking exploration followed by production operation.

"During the Year 2023, 76 mineral blocks have been successfully auctioned till December. Out of these, 30 mineral blocks were auctioned for Mining Lease (ML) and the remaining 46 were auctioned as Composite Licence (CL)," the mines ministry said in a statement.

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Out of the total 335 blocks auctioned since 2015, 46 are operational and 43 are in production.

During the year 2023, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have successfully auctioned the maximum number of blocks, i.e. 22 and 16, respectively.

In 2022 a total number of 33 Iron Ore minerals were auctioned which was the highest mineral blocks auctioned in 2022. Similarly, this year also a highest number of 24 Iron Ore minerals were auctioned followed by 20 limestone blocks.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)