Coal India bags first critical mineral asset

Subject: Geo

Sec: Eco Geo

Context:

The first critical mineral asset, a graphite block, in Madhya Pradesh.
Owning a graphite asset will give Coal India an advantage in powering green energy transition momentum to an extent, according to a statement.
Coal India Ltd (CIL) has successfully opened its account in domestic critical mineral asset emerging as the preferred bidder for Khattali Chotti graphite block in Alirajpur district of Madhya Pradesh.
The company accounts for more than 80 per cent of domestic coal output.
The country imports about 69 per cent of its graphite needs – natural, synthetic and end-use products.
Graphite has its utility as an anode material in lithium-ion battery manufacturing due to its relatively low cost and energy density.
With the electric vehicle market and energy storage systems fast gaining traction, where lithium-ion cells are used, graphite has a big market.
The market size for graphite is projected to take a big leap with the absolute demand projected to shoot up at the rate of 25-27 per cent by FY35 from the current level.

CIL acquired the composite licence for the 599.76-hectare graphite block:

Firm is the first major player in the critical mineral auction.
It won the bid by quoting a mining premium of 150.05% of the mineral despatch value.
Coal India is also actively pursuing lithium blocks in Chile, Australia, and various African nations

Graphite:

It is an opaque, non-metallic carbon polymorph that is blackish silver in colour and metallic to dull in sheen.
Since it resembles metal lead, it is also known colloquially as black lead or plumbago.
Formation: It is formed by the metamorphosis of sediments containing carbonaceous material.
Molecular structure
- It consists of a ring of six carbon atoms closely bonded together hexagonally in widely spaced layers.
- The bonds within the layers are strong, but the bonds between the layers are less in number and therefore weaker.
Properties:
- It is a naturally occurring form of crystalline carbon and is a stable form of carbon.
- It is extremely soft, cleaves with very light pressure, and has a very low specific gravity.
- In contrast, it is extremely resistant to heat and nearly inert in contact with almost any other material. These extreme properties give it a wide range of uses in metallurgy and manufacturing.
Applications: It is used in pencils, lubricants, crucibles, foundry facings, polishes, arc lamps, batteries, brushes for electric motors, and cores of nuclear reactors.
Globally it is mined extensively in China, India, Brazil, North Korea, and Canada.