Consultation on amendment of Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2015 for faster operationalization of mines.

TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, PART II, SECTION 3, SUB-SECTION (i)] GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINES NOTIFICATION New Delhi, the January, 2026. G.S.R….(E).— In exercise of the powers conferred by section 13 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (67 of 1957), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2015, namely:— 1. (1) These rules may be called the Mineral (Auction) Second Amendment Rules, 2026. (2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette. 2. In the Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2015 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘said rules’), in rule 10,— (a) in sub-rule (2), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:— “Provided that on and from the date specified by the Central Government, upon the receipt of such payment and performance security, the letter of intent shall automatically be issued through the online unified mining portal and in such case, sub-rule (2A) shall not be applicable.”; (b) after sub-rule (2A), the following sub-rules shall be inserted, namely:— “(2B) Where a forest is involved in a mineral block, the State Government may, — (a) allow the preferred bidder for exclusion of the portion of the block containing forest, in case such portion is in a corner or at the edge of the block and the estimated quantity of mineral resources in such portion is less than twenty per cent. of the total estimated quantity of mineral resources in the block; or (b) allow the preferred bidder for execution of part mining lease for non- forest area and forest area separately, in case the State Government is satisfied that the mineral block does not contain deep-seated mineral as defined under the Explanation to section 6A:Provided that in case of execution of part mining lease, there shall be no reduction in the amount of instalments of upfront payment. (2C) In case of execution of part mining lease, the part leases shall be amalgamated under rule 56 of the Minerals (Other than Atomic and Hydro Carbons Energy Minerals) Concession Rules, 2016.”; (c) in sub-rule (3), in clause (b), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:— “Provided also that where a notice inviting tender is issued after the commencement of the Mineral (Auction) Second Amendment Rules, 2026, payment of the second instalment of the upfront payment shall be made within one year from the date of issue of letter of intent”; (d) in sub-rule (4), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:— “Provided that in case of execution of part mining lease, the Mine Development and Production Agreement shall be signed in two parts, first for non-forest part and subsequently for entire block area upon obtaining all consents, approvals, permits, no- objections and the like for the respective parts.”; (e) in sub-rule (6),— (i) in the first proviso, after the words “Mining Lease Deed”, the words “, including part mining lease deeds,” shall be inserted; (ii) after the second proviso, the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:— “Provided also that where a notice inviting tender is issued after the commencement of the Mineral (Auction) Second Amendment Rules, 2026, the second proviso shall not be applicable.”; (iii) in the Explanation, after the words “shall be forfeited”, the words “, and in case of annulment of auction due to mining in the block is made impossible for the reasons not attributable to the preferred bidder or the successful bidder as decided by the committee constituted under sub-rule (2) of rule 10A, such security and payments shall be returned to such bidder” shall be inserted. 3. In the said rules, in rule 11, after sub-rule (2), the following sub-rule shall be inserted, namely:— “(3) Notwithstanding sub-rule (1) and (2), for the block containing minerals other than a mineral specified in the Part D of the First Schedule of the Act or the Seventh Schedule of the Act, where a notice inviting tender is issued after the commencement of the Mineral (Auction) Second Amendment Rules, 2026,—(a) An amount equal to 1.50% of the value of estimated resources shall be the upfront payment: (b) The upfront payment shall be payable to the State Government in three instalments of thirty-three per cent.; thirty-three per cent. and thirty-four per cent.; and shall be adjusted in full at the earliest against the auction premium on commencement of production of mineral as specified in the tender document.”. 4. In the said rules, in rule 18,— (a) in sub-rule (1), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:— “Provided that on and from the date specified by the Central Government, upon the receipt performance security, the letter of intent shall automatically be issued through the online unified mining portal and in such case, sub-rule (1B) shall not be applicable.”; (b) in sub-rule (3), after the second proviso, the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:— “Provided also that the second proviso shall not be applicable in cases where a notice inviting tender is issued after the commencement of the Mineral (Auction) Second Amendment Rules, 2026.”; (c) in sub-rule (6), after the third proviso, the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:— “Provided also that on and from the date specified by the Central Government, upon the receipt of the first instalment of upfront amount and enhanced performance security as specified in clause (b), the letter of intent shall automatically be issued through the online unified mining portal and in such case, sub-rule (6A) shall not be applicable.”; (d) in sub-rule (8), in clause (b),— (i) the words “being twenty per cent.” shall be omitted; (ii) the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:— “Provided also that where a notice inviting tender is issued after the commencement of the Mineral (Auction) Second Amendment Rules, 2026, payment of the second instalment of the upfront payment shall be made within one year from the date of issue of letter of intent for mining lease”; (e) in sub-rule (9), the words “being sixty per cent.” shall be omitted.5. In the said rules, in rule 19G, in sub-rule (1), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:— “Provided that on and from the date specified by the Central Government, upon the receipt performance security, the letter of intent shall automatically be issued through the online unified mining portal.”. 6. In the said rules, in rule 24, in sub-rule (2), the words “specified in the Part D of the First Schedule of the Act or the Seventh Schedule of the Act” shall be omitted. 7. In the said rules, after rule 24, the following rule shall be inserted, namely:— “25. Unified mining portal: (1) The Central Government, in consultation with the State Government, shall prepare an online unified mining portal to carry out various processes under these rules and for implementation and compliance of the provisions of these rules. (2) On and from the date specified by the Central Government, various process and compliances under these rules shall be carried out by the Central Government or State Government only through the said portal: Provided that the Central Government may specify different dates for implementation of different aspects or modules of such portal.”. [F. No. M.VI-16/6/2026-Mines VI] (Shakil Alam) Economic Advisor Note.— The principal rules were published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i), vide number G.S.R. 406(E), dated the 20th May, 2015 and lastly amended, vide number G.S.R. 776(E), dated the 22nd October, 2025.