Offshore mineral auctions mark India's entry into a new resource frontier. Examine the opportunities and the ecological risks of seabed mining in the Andaman Sea.

On 1 October 2026, the Ministry of Mines put two Andaman Sea blocks up for auction: Sewell Rise-01 and West Sewell Ridge-01. Together they cover more than 1,632 sq km of polymetallic nodules and crusts [1]. The sale runs under the OAMDR Act, 2002, which was amended in 2023 to make auction mandatory [2]. This frontier offers real strategic gains, but its ecological risks need safeguards before any mining starts.

Opportunities

• Critical mineral security: the nodules hold cobalt, nickel, manganese, copper and REEs. These are needed for EVs, clean energy and electronics, and India now relies heavily on imports for them [1].
• Transparent allocation: auction has replaced discretionary allotment. The Composite Licence lets a firm explore first and then produce, which suits blocks with little geological data [3].
• Revenue: bidders quote a percentage of the value of mineral dispatched. An Offshore Areas Mineral Trust also receives 10% of royalty [4].
• Strategic presence: the blocks lie near Great Nicobar, and India's own release calls them "strategically significant" [1]. Exploring them strengthens India's presence in its EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone).
• Blue economy: demand from bidders could speed up deep-sea technology, alongside MoES's Deep Ocean Mission.

Ecological risks

• Habitat damage: collecting nodules scrapes the seabed and stirs up sediment plumes. Deep-sea ecosystems recover very slowly, which is why the Secretary stressed "environmentally responsible" development [1].
• Clearance after sale: under Rules 10(5) and 18(3), environmental permits are needed only before operations begin [5]. Blocks are sold before any block-specific EIA, which puts pressure on regulators to approve.
• Cumulative stress on Great Nicobar: seven Tranche-1 nodule blocks already lie off the island [5]. Each block is assessed separately, so nobody measures their combined impact on this sensitive area.
• Limited consultation: before a block is notified, only MoEFCC, Fisheries and MoES are consulted [6]. Fishers and island communities are not heard.
• Regulatory gap: commercial nodule mining is not proven at scale anywhere, and there is still no agreed global rulebook for it.

The Andaman auction can serve both mineral security and the blue economy, but only if science comes before extraction. The exploration stage should build environmental baselines, a record of seabed life before mining starts. The Trust's mandate for ecological research should be funded early [7]. Block-wise and cumulative EIAs with island public hearings should be required. Applying the precautionary principle this way would keep the new frontier in line with SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and sustainable development.