Coal India eyeing Argentina, Chile for critical minerals, says official

New Delhi: State-run Coal India is scouting for critical minerals in Argentina and is in talks with officials in Chile for lithium, India's federal mines secretary V L Kantha Rao said on Wednesday.

India has been exploring ways to secure supplies of lithium, a critical raw material used to make electric vehicle batteries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government last year listed 30 minerals, including lithium, nickel, titanium, vanadium and tungsten, as critical to drive the adoption of clean energy.

"Coal India and some other companies are looking at Argentina," Rao told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference.

In June Reuters reported that Coal India was exploring lithium blocks in Argentina along with a US company to secure supplies of the battery material as part of India's efforts under the US-led Minerals Security Partnership (MSP).

India, among the world's top greenhouse gas emitters, has been pursuing overseas pacts to secure key minerals in resource-rich countries such as Australia, Argentina and Chile.

India's state-owned firm Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) is pursuing leads in Australia for critical minerals, Rao said, adding that KABIL had also secured permission for "non-invasive" exploration in Argentina.

"KABIL has got five blocks and for three blocks, they have permission to do non-invasive exploration," he said.

In January KABIL signed a $24 million lithium exploration pact for five blocks in Argentina.