The Union Mines Ministry, through the state-owned Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) has entered into an agreement with Argentina's CAYMEN SE on January 15 for exploration and mining of five lithium brine blocks, amid India's push to boost its critical minerals supply to reduce carbon footprint.
KABIL, which is a joint venture between NALCO, Hindustan Copper (HCL) and Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL), is also preparing to set up a branch office at Catamarca, Argentina,
The project cost is about Rs 200 crore, the ministry said in a press statement released late evening on January 15.
"The project will help India strengthen lithium supplies, while developing lithium mining and downstream sectors of both the countries. It will also facilitate diversification of supply chain for critical materials towards achieving Global Net Zero goals," union minister for coals and mines Prahlad Joshi said in a tweet.
The blocks Cortadera-I, Cortadera-VII, Cortadera-VIII, Cateo-2022-01810132 and Cortadera-VI is spread around 15,703 hectare are located in the Catamarca province.
"This will not only boost it’s quest for sourcing lithium for India but will also help in bringing in technical & operational experience for Brine type lithium exploration, exploitation and extraction," the ministry said.
Argentina is the part of “Lithium Triangle” along with Chile and Bolivia with more than half of world’s total lithium resources and having the distinction of having 2nd largest lithium resources, 3rd largest lithium reserves and 4th largest production in world.
Lithium, often referred to as "white gold" due to its market value and silver color, is one of the most sought-after minerals globally. The metal is critical to India's ambitious green energy goals as it finds usage in sectors like electric vehicles (EV), lithium-ion batteries, mobile phones, among others.
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