The online bids were decrypted and opened electronically in the presence of the bidders, the ministry said in a statement.
Subsequently, sealed envelopes containing offline bid documents were also opened in the presence of bidders.
The entire process was displayed on the screen for the bidders.
Under the 9th round, a total of 27 coal mines were put up for auction and 33 bids were received against 13 coal mines. Under 2nd attempt of the seventh round, a total of five coal mines were put up for auction and seven bids were received against three coal mines.
The 27 companies including major companies like Tata Steel Ltd, JSW Steel Ltd, Rungta Sons Pvt Ltd., etc. have submitted their bids in the auction process.
The bids will be evaluated by a multi-disciplinary technical evaluation committee and technically qualified bidders will be shortlisted for participation in the electronic auction, to be conducted on the MSTC portal.