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New UserCoal India, NMDC, OVL look to secure critical mineral assets abroad
16 May 2024
Coal India, NMDC, OVL look to secure
critical mineral assets abroad
ET Bureau
CIL, NMDC, OVL, and KABIL are
collaborating to secure critical minerals overseas, focusing on lithium for EV
batteries. India defines 30 critical minerals to meet energy transition goals
for various sectors.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a workshop, union mines secretary V L Kantha Rao said PSUs with overseas offices will be given preference for securing critical minerals in countries where they already have presence. CIL is already pursuing lithium blocks in Chile while NMDC is active in Australia. KABIL, a joint venture of National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco), Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) and Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Ltd (MECL) has also been formed specifically for securing overseas critical minerals. In January this year, it gained exclusive exploration rights for five lithium blocks in Argentina. Lithium is a key component in the production of batteries essential for various industries, including electric vehicles. In Australia, India is carrying out feasibility studies at five projects of Lithium and Cobalt.
ET reported in April this year that India has reached out to key critical
mineral producers to bring in processing technology into the country. The move
came close on the back of the government rolling out auctions of critical
mineral mines. In June 2023, India for the first time defined its own list of
30 critical minerals. It was also stated that international commitments towards
reducing carbon emissions require
the country to urgently relook at its mineral requirements for energy
transition and net-zero commitments. Critical minerals such as cobalt,
graphite, lithium, and rare earth elements (REE) are key for manufacturing
components of EVs and
used in new age developments for defence,
agriculture, energy, pharmaceutical, and telecom, among other, sectors.