New Delhi: India’s overseas acquisition of critical mineral blocks, and their development, mining and production have seen “limited progress” and delayed timelines, with the first lithium production from five blocks in Argentina expected to start only in 2030—nearly seven years after the blocks were acquired by Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) from Argentinian state-owned company, Camyen.
KABIL was set up as a separate company under the Union Ministry of Mines in 2019 with the mandate to identify, explore, acquire, develop, mine, process and procure strategic and critical minerals from outside India for the domestic market. It obtained the exclusive rights for exploration and development of the lithium blocks from Camyen in January 2024.
But the entity is facing multiple challenges including delays in getting approvals, stiff competition from global players, financial constraints and socio-political instability in countries like Mali, where KABIL was looking to invest while trying to source overseas critical minerals assets.
A parliamentary panel last week flagged delay in production in the five lithium brine blocks (underground accumulations of saline groundwater enriched with dissolved lithium) acquired from Camyen; “limited progress” in securing some other mineral assets in Argentina, Australia and Chile; along with “prolonged timelines” in moving from negotiations to actual acquisition and production phase.
Currently, China dominates the global supply chain of critical minerals, from mining to processing, making it difficult for others to secure a significant foothold.
The urgency is not lost on India as it seeks to bolster its critical mineral resources domestically, while looking at acquiring overseas assets.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address said that India is working to secure its supply chain of critical minerals, with agreements being signed with several countries, to ensure self-reliance.
However, India faces multiple challenges, the report by the Parliamentary panel on Coal, Mines and Steel—headed by BJP Lok Sabha MP Anurag Thakur—has observed.
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Rejected bid in Argentina & Australia, social instability in Mali
While the production timeline of lithium from the blocks in Catamarca province in Argentina has slipped to December 2030 from September 2029, an offer from a consortium comprising KABIL, as well as five India Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs)—including Coal India Limited (CIL), Oil India Limited (OIL) and ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL)—to invest in a lithium brine project in Argentina’s Salta was not selected.
Salta is one of the three provinces in Argentina, along with Catamarca and Jujay, which fall under the Lithium triangle.
Besides the five lithium brine blocks in Argentina acquired by KABIL, the company is also evaluating seven additional greenfield lithium blocks for acquisition in Catamarca. “Discussions are also in progress for obtaining two green field brine type lithium projects in Argentina’s Jujay province,” representatives from the mines ministry told the parliamentary panel.
The parliamentary panel also noted that KABIL’s substantial due diligence efforts in Australia have yet to be “translated into a concluded investment, owing to intense global competition and evolving project timelines of asset owners”.
In Australia, a consortium of KABIL, OIL, CIL and OVL had identified five priority lithium projects in Mt. Marion, Wodgina, Mt Holland, Andover and Delta Lithium for minority equity stakes and offtake agreements. The consortium was not successful in competitive bidding for Mt. Marion and Wodgina. South Korean steel and chemicals company, POSCO has picked up 15 percent equity stakes in each of the Wodgina and Mt Marion mines for 765 million USD.
In the other two projects in Mt Holland and Andover, the project owner had placed the process on hold in June 2025. It was reopened in February 2026. The Indian consortium is presently undertaking a joint evaluation of the project for investment considerations. The fifth project was not found suitable for investment.
While noting that these developments are largely influenced by market dynamics and commercial considerations beyond KABIL’s control, the House panel said that it is of the “considered opinion that KABIL needs to strengthen its commercial capabilities, enhance coordination with consortium partners, and maintain readiness to respond swiftly to evolving investment opportunities in competitive global markets”.
Ministry officials in their testimony before the parliamentary panel said that absence of a domestic value chain for spodumene concentrate (end product for Mt. Marion and Wodgina lithium projects), highly fluctuating price for lithium components, variation between long-term price forecasts for spodumene concentrate published by various market intelligence, overpriced assets and highly competitive market was behind India not winning the bid.
In Chile, a consortium of KABIL and PSUs signed a non-disclosure agreement with ENAMI, Chile’s state-owned mining company, to evaluate possible business opportunities in exploration, extraction, processing and commercialization of lithium, particularly brine-type blocks.
But the application could not be submitted on time due to limited timeframe and KABIL’s lean financial capacity after acquisition of the five lithium brine blocks in Argentina in 2024, and the investment required to develop them.
The parliamentary panel also noted that due diligence for a lithium project in Mali with Uranium One Group, a subsidiary of Russia’s state-owned company Rosatom, was put on hold due to socio-political instability.
Phase 1 and 2 exploration activities were completed by November 2025 by Uranium One Group. “The project due-diligence process was kept on hold by KABIL due to adverse local conditions,” ministry representatives told the panel.
‘Clearly defined implementation roadmap needed’
India has set an acquisition target of 50 overseas assets by March 2031. Meeting this target will require a “clearly defined implementation roadmap with measurable milestones,” the parliamentary panel has said.
But it is easier said than done.
Ministry representatives told the panel that signing of agreements with overseas entities is just an “enabling provision”, and does not “automatically lead to allocation of exploration/mining blocks”.
“From allocation of blocks to its conversion into commercially operational assets requires various complex steps like environmental clearance & other statutory approvals. exploration, feasibility studies, mine development activities etc., which take considerable time,” officials told the panel.
They cited a 2025 study by S&P Global, according to which the “average lead time for mines continues to rise, reaching 17.8 years for those that became operational between 2020 and 2024”. “Extended periods for exploration, permitting and financing have significantly contributed to these longer lead times,” the study adds.
The timelines for KABIL’s overseas acquisition are well within the average timelines, officials further told the panel.
The panel has also observed that the success of overseas mineral acquisition efforts would depend not only on securing mineral assets, but also on establishing assured domestic demand and market linkages for the minerals sourced through such assets.
On KABIL’s limited financial capacity, the ministry officials said in their submission that the company is being restructured, which will enhance its authorised capital to Rs 1,000 crore, from the current authorised capital of Rs 500 crore. This will enable KABIL to participate in large-value global acquisitions, especially against financially stronger global competitors, they added.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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