Hindustan Copper Emerges Top Bidder for Baghwari-Khirkhori Copper Block in MP
Hindustan Copper secures preferred bidder status for the Baghwari-Khirkhori copper block in Madhya Pradesh via e-auction.
State-owned Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) has emerged as the preferred bidder for the Baghwari-Khirkhori Copper and Associated Mineral Block in Madhya Pradesh after offering the highest final price in a forward e-auction conducted by the state government.
In a regulatory filing, the company said the auction for the grant of a composite licence-cum-mining lease was successfully concluded on January 22, 2026, and official communication confirming its status as the preferred bidder was received on Saturday. The bidding process was carried out by the Directorate of Geology and Mining, Government of Madhya Pradesh.
Hindustan Copper had participated in the auction under the Notice Inviting Tender issued on October 31, 2025. The Baghwari-Khirkhori block forms part of Madhya Pradesh’s broader push to auction mineral resources in line with the central government’s mining sector reforms, aimed at improving transparency and boosting domestic mineral production.
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HCL is a Mini Ratna Central Public Sector Enterprise operating under the administrative control of the Ministry of Mines. It is currently the only company in India engaged in copper ore mining and holds all operating mining leases for copper ore in the country, giving it a dominant position in the domestic copper mining sector.
The company’s core operations focus on the exploration, mining, and beneficiation of copper ore, which is processed into copper concentrate for sale. Its mining operations are spread across Malanjkhand in Madhya Pradesh, Khetri in Rajasthan, and Ghatsila in Jharkhand, forming the backbone of India’s primary copper mining infrastructure.
In addition to mining, Hindustan Copper operates a primary smelter and refinery at Ghatsila, secondary smelting and refining facilities at Jhagadia in Gujarat, and a continuous cast copper wire rod plant at Taloja in Maharashtra. The successful bid for the Madhya Pradesh block is expected to further strengthen the company’s resource base and support its long-term production and expansion plans.
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