{"id":119715,"date":"2026-08-18T11:55:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T06:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=119715"},"modified":"2026-08-18T11:55:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T06:25:49","slug":"indias-overseas-critical-mineral-quest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/indias-overseas-critical-mineral-quest\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Overseas Critical Mineral Quest"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Critical Mineral Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Critical minerals such as <\/span><b>lithium, cobalt, nickel<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, rare earth elements and graphite are indispensable for electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, renewable energy, electronics, defence and advanced manufacturing.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With domestic reserves and production insufficient to meet future demand, India is seeking overseas mineral assets through Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (<\/span><b>KABIL<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s critical-mineral strategy <\/span><b>combines <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">domestic exploration, overseas asset acquisition, recycling, substitution and processing capacity to reduce vulnerability to concentrated global supply chains.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>KABIL and India\u2019s Overseas Strategy<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Established in <\/span><b>2019<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, KABIL is a<\/span><b> joint venture<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of National Aluminium Company Ltd. (NALCO), Hindustan Copper Ltd. (HCL) and Mineral Exploration &amp; Consultancy Ltd. (MECL).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its <\/span><b>mandate <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is to identify, explore, acquire and develop overseas critical-mineral assets.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, KABIL\u2019s expansion has faced <\/span><b>difficulties <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in Australia, Vietnam, Mali and Chile, with several proposed investments being delayed or abandoned. Argentina remains the principal area of tangible progress.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Relative Success and Opportunity Lost<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Argentina:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">KABIL has acquired five <\/span><b>lithium <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">brine blocks in Catamarca province. It is also evaluating seven additional greenfield lithium blocks in Catamarca and negotiating two more lithium projects in Jujuy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The progress in Argentina reflects India\u2019s attempt to secure lithium resources at source and develop a more resilient supply chain for the emerging battery economy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Australia:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In December 2024, a consortium of KABIL, Coal India Ltd. (CIL), Oil India Ltd. (OIL) and ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) submitted a non-binding offer of $184 million for stakes in Australia\u2019s Mt Marion and Wodgina lithium mines.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the bidding process was reopened, the consortium revised its offer to $233 million in September 2025.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nevertheless, the assets were ultimately <\/span><b>acquired by South Korea\u2019s POSCO<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which paid $765 million for 15% stakes in each mine.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Why India lost the bid:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">KABIL identified several lessons from the failed transaction &#8211;<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">High asset valuations amid intense international competition.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Volatility <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in lithium prices, creating uncertainty over project profitability.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wide divergence in long-term spodumene concentrate price forecasts.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Absence of an adequate domestic value chain for spodumene concentrate.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Limited time for consortium partners to complete due diligence.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Financial constraints <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and difficulties in mobilising large amounts of capital.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The episode demonstrates that acquiring mineral resources alone is insufficient; India also requires domestic capabilities in processing, refining, technology, logistics and manufacturing.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Chile &#8211; Financial Constraints and Institutional Delays<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">KABIL also explored a lithium brine project in Chile involving a high-value investment.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in October 2025, it obtained initial access to the project&#8217;s data room.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Given the scale of investment, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/khanij-bidesh-india-limited\/\" target=\"_blank\">KABIL<\/a><\/strong> decided to pursue the opportunity jointly with other PSUs.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, <\/span><b>due diligence could not be completed<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> within the available timeframe, preventing submission of a bid.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In another opportunity involving Chile\u2019s state-owned mining company ENAMI, KABIL explored the entire lithium value chain\u2014from exploration and extraction to processing and commercialisation.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It eventually transferred the opportunity to CIL because of limited financial capacity and the substantial investment already required for its Argentine projects.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Structural Challenges Experienced by KABIL<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Four constraints:<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Financial limitations<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Critical-mineral projects require large upfront capital and have long gestation periods.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Commodity-price volatility<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Lithium prices can fluctuate sharply, making high-priced acquisitions risky.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Global competition<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Countries and companies with deeper financial resources can outbid Indian entities for strategic assets.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Geopolitical and country risks<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Mining investments are exposed to regulatory changes, political instability, local opposition and resource nationalism in host countries.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India must therefore move from a narrow \u201cmine acquisition\u201d approach towards an <\/span><b>integrated overseas mineral strategy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> involving sovereign partnerships, risk-sharing finance, long-term offtake agreements and domestic processing capacity.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Way Forward<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India should <\/span><b>strengthen KABIL<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> through greater financial autonomy, professional project evaluation, faster inter-PSU coordination and specialised mineral expertise.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Public-sector entities can partner with private companies, foreign governments and global mining firms to distribute risks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Simultaneously, India needs to develop a domestic <\/span><b>critical-mineral value chain<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including beneficiation, refining, battery-material production and recycling.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The long-term objective should be <\/span><b>mineral security<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> rather than ownership of individual mines.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Diversified suppliers, strategic stockpiles, recycling, technological substitution and resilient supply chains can collectively reduce India\u2019s external vulnerability.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Source: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-economics\/india-critical-mineral-assets-overseas-hurdles-10832979\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><b>IE<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With domestic reserves and production insufficient to meet future demand, India is seeking overseas critical mineral assets through Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":119729,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[9610],"class_list":["post-119715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","tag-critical-mineral","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119715"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119722,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119715\/revisions\/119722"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}