India identifies copper and lithium mines in Argentina; to acquire soon

India has identified two lithium mines and one copper mine in Argentina, and it may acquire or lease them soon, a report by BusinessLine (BL) said. In November 2022, the Indian government sent a team of geologists to South America to "assess potential lithium deposits".

The report cited officials of the ministry of mines as saying that the ownership or leasing rights of the mines will be with Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (Kabil). It is a joint venture of the National Aluminium Company (Nalco), Hindustan Copper (HCL) and Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd (MECL). It was formed in 2019 to ensure the supply of strategic minerals in India's market.

"Subsequent to preliminary assessment, Kabil expressed interest to partner with a state-owned organisation there in December for prospecting the identified areas and exploring the possibility of establishing projects for extraction of lithium in due course of time. Commercial evaluation of the same has begun at our end here," the official told BL.

Argentina is the fourth largest producer of lithium. It also has the third-largest reserve of the mineral in the world. Lithium is widely used in manufacturing batteries and other electronic products. Australia, US and China are the other major producers of the mineral.

In December, PTI reported that Kabil expressed interest in partnering with Argentina-based Camyen to prospect two areas for extracting lithium.

The ministry, in October, said that Camyen shared information regarding two prospective lithium projects in la Aguada and El Indio in Catamarca through the Indian Embassy in Buenos Aires.

Kabil also signed three agreements with Argentina government-run companies JEMSE, Camyen and YPF between July and September 2020 to explore sourcing of lithium and other mineral assets in the South American country.

Kabil is also reportedly in the process of hunting joint lithium mining projects in Chile.

In March, the JV under the mines ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Australia, for joint investment in lithium and cobalt assets in that country.