The country’s first lithium block in Chhattisgarh has been bagged by Maiki South Mining, the government said on Monday. The block was awarded to the company at an auction premium of 76.05 per cent.

Maiki South Mining has emerged as the preferred bidder for the Katghora lithium and rare earth elements (REE) block in Chhattisgarh, the mines ministry said.

On Monday, Union minister of coal and mines G. Kishan Reddy announced the launch of the fourth round of auction of critical and strategic minerals in which 21 blocks have been put on sale.

Of these, 11 are fresh blocks in six states — Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. These blocks contain a variety of minerals, including graphite, glauconite, phosphorite, potash, nickel, PGE, phosphate and REE.

Ten critical mineral blocks are on offer as the “second attempt”. These are located in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu and have important critical minerals such as tungsten, vanadium, graphite, glauconite, cobalt and nickel.

Reddy also announced that the mines ministry plans to launch the first tranche of auction of offshore mineral blocks within the first 100 days of the new government.

He said the reforms that took place in 2015 in the mining and mineral sector are showing benefits.