India acquires five lithium blocks in Argentina

Subject: Geography

Section: Economic geography

Context:

The Mines Ministry, through KhanijBidesh India Limited (KABIL), signed an agreement with Argentina’s State-owned CAMYEN for the development of five lithium blocks.
CAMYEN, which stands for Catamarca Minera Y Energetica Sociedad Del Estado, is based out of the Catamarca province in the Latin American nation.

Details:

The State-owned KABIL will start the exploration and development of five lithium brine blocks, namely Cortadera-I, Cortadera-VII, Cortadera-VIII, Cateo-2022-01810132, and Cortadera-VI, covering an area of about 15,703 hectares.
KABIL is also preparing to set up a branch office at Catamarca, Argentina.
This is the first-ever lithium exploration and mining project undertaken by a government company in India.
Argentina is part of the world’s “Lithium Triangle”, along with Chile and Bolivia, and the three together have more than half of the world’s total lithium resources.

About lithium:

Lithium is a non-ferrous metal and is one of the key components in EV batteries.
It has the symbol Li and is a chemical element.
It’s a silvery-white metal with a delicate texture.
It is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element under normal circumstances.
It must be kept in mineral oil since it is very reactive and combustible.
It is both an alkali and a rare metal.

India’s lithium reserves:

According to the Indian Mines Ministry, the government agencies made the small discovery of lithium resources at a site in Mandya, Karnataka. It is the country’s first lithium reserve.
Now, Lithium inferred resources have been found in the Reasi District of Jammu & Kashmir (UT).
India’s lithium requirements, amounting to around ₹24,000 crore, are met through imports, with the majority of supplies coming from China.

KhanijBidesh India Ltd (KABIL):

KABIL is a joint venture between National Aluminium Company (NALCO),Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd (MECL) and Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL).
It was formed in 2019 to identify, acquire, develop and process strategic minerals overseas for use in India.
It has been concentrating on securing copper, cobalt and lithium and in some cases nickel supplies among the critical minerals identified.

Source: TH BL