India to leverage US-led Minerals Security Partnership to help PSUs secure critical mineral assets abroad

During the meeting, VL Kantha Rao, Secretary, Ministry of Mines, “assured to provide every possible help” to PSUs in the acquisition of critical mineral assets abroad, which includes circulating details of some block proposals received through the MSP, according to the minutes of the meeting accessed by The Indian Express through the RTI. India joined the MSP in June, 2023 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US.

The MSP is a US-led collaborative effort involving thirteen countries including the UK, Australia, France, and Germany, and the European Union, which aims to catalyse public and private investment in critical mineral supply chains globally. The collaboration is currently engaged in fostering a critical minerals and metals cooperation forum for the sharing of expertise, building a robust battery materials supply chain, and jointly developing a minerals processing facility in South America.

Kantha Rao also recommended the financial empowerment of relevant subsidiaries to “facilitate timely execution upon receipt of viable proposals”. He gave the example of ONGC Videsh Limited, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary and overseas arm of upstream petroleum major Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) tasked with exploring and developing oil and gas reserves overseas. He also referred to NTPC Mining Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC, which currently operates the thermal power utility’s coal mining business in India.

In the meeting, M. Nagaraju, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Coal, which oversees Coal India Limited (CIL) and NLC India, informed that the two PSUs are interested in acquiring critical mineral blocks overseas and sought the ministry’s and KABIL’s assistance on the same. KABIL is a central public sector enterprise (CPSE) under the mines ministry, which on January 15 signed an agreement with a state-owned company in Argentina to explore and develop five lithium blocks in the South American country.

Asheesh Kumar, General Manager at CIL, added that the PSU is interested in securing lithium and cobalt blocks in Australia. In March 2023, two lithium and three cobalt blocks had been identified by the Union Minister of Coal and Mines and the Australian Minister for Resources for investment by KABIL, according to a report available on the mines ministry’s website. Both CIL and KABIL did not respond to a query seeking clarification on the scope of their engagement with each other in exploring critical mineral projects in Australia.

Kumar also added that CIL will focus on Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina as well for securing critical mineral assets.

NTPC is looking at acquiring lithium, cobalt, graphite, and high-purity limestone assets abroad through its subsidiary NTPC Mining Limited. During the meeting, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) representatives expressed interest in acquiring coking coal, limestone, and iron ore assets overseas for captive use. Since these minerals are not included in the list of thirty critical minerals identified by the mines ministry, Kantha Rao recommended SAIL to also explore the potential of investments in critical minerals abroad within the Steel Ministry, which owns the PSU. NTPC and SAIL did not respond to a query seeking comments on their critical mineral plans.

On January 18, CIL announced plans to enter the mining of critical minerals in India beginning with the exploration of a lithium block it expects to get from the central government. In 2023, CIL had also amended its Memorandum of Association (MoA) to include non-ferrous and critical minerals, in line with the PSU’s growing commitment towards critical minerals. Previously, NLC India had also expressed interest in participating in the ongoing auction of twenty critical mineral blocks launched by the mines ministry in November, 2023.

During the meeting in October, Kantha Rao also recommended ministries and PSUs interested in critical mineral assets overseas to engage international consultants to “conduct in-depth studies, compile comprehensive reports, and oversee due diligence procedures for prospective projects”. He also added that PSUs should maintain a communication channel with Indian missions abroad as embassies can ensure the smooth acquisition of overseas projects.