Business Standard - India has identified two lithium mines and one copper mine in Argentina, and it may acquire or lease them soon, a report by Business Line (BL) said. In November 2022, the Indian government sent a team of geologists to South America to "assess potential lithium deposits". Read more
The officials of the Ministry of Mines said that the ownership or leasing rights of the mines will be with Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (Kabil). It is a joint venture of the Aational Aluminium Company (Nalco), Hindustan Copper (HCL) and Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd (MECL).
Argentina is the 4th largest producer of lithium and also the 3rd largest reserve of the mineral in the world. Kabil expressed interest to partner with a state-owned organization there in December for prospecting the identified areas and exploring the possibility of establishing projects for extraction of lithium in due course of time.
Kabil also signed three agreements with the Argentina government-run companies JEMSE, Camyen and YPF between July and September 2020 to explorer sourcing of lithium and other mineral assets in the South American country. It is also reportedly in the process of hunting joint lithium mining projects in Chile.
Lithium is widely used in manufacturing batteries and other electronic products. Australia, US and China are the other major producers of the minerals.
Lithium in India: In 2021, the Department of Atomic Energy discovered the country's first lithium reserve of 1600 tonnes in Mandya, Karnataka. Along with this, India's first lithium deposit site was also found.
India currently imports lithium for its need. There is a joint venture between three PSUs and the Lithium triangle for a consisting supply of lithium as the majority is routed through China and Chinese's influence. There are ideas and strategies to acquire mines overseas to keep the price of the raw material in check and also policies to recycle lithium from Li-ion batteries to create a sustainable and renewable ecosystem.
Apart from these, the Geological Survey of India also works on the probable locations of such reserves in 6 states of Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
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