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Western Australia working on critical minerals JVs with Indian mining majors

04 Mar 2024, 06:29 PM IST

https://www.livemint.com/economy/western-australia-working-on-critical-minerals-jvs-with-indian-mining-majors-11709554790530.html

SUMMARY

• The focus of an emerging India-Australia partnership in will be on lithium, vanadium and green steel as well as nickel, copper and magnetite.

New Delhi: Major Indian mining firms are in talks with authorities in Western Australia exploring investments in the mineral-rich province, said Nashid Choudhury, the region's investment and trade commissioner for India and the Gulf. Choudhury said the province is currently mapping and building a pipeline of joint ventures with major Indian firms.

“There are a number of powerhouses across India who are definitely exploring Western Australia as a market. Alongside, our federal government colleagues are definitely working on a number of leads, which we are supporting them on. So I would say an absolute range of leading private houses and PSUs which are on that decarbonization journey, are interested," Choudhury told Mint.

“Not only are we a major supplier of critical minerals, we're also home to a buzzing ecosystem that is developing lithium and is looking at the future of lithium-ion technology for batteries and vanadium redox flow batteries, which will be a very key opportunity to grow and address the demands—be it for vehicles or for storage," she added. While Japan, Korea and European nations have been Australia’s traditional partners, Choudhury sees an increasing opportunity for Indian firms.

Another article:
https://indianexpress.com/article/business/economy/indian-companies-eye-critical-minerals-mining-in-sri-lanka-australia-as-mines-ministry-expands-search-beyond-south-america-9194042/

Three days later, it organised a luncheon meeting to explore avenues for mining opportunities in Australia, which was attended by the Indian High Commissioner-designate to Australia, Gopal Bagley, and various industry representatives from companies including Coal India, Steel Authority of India, Vedanta, Tata Steel, Adani Group, and JSW Steel.

The meeting on mining opportunities in Australia followed a meeting between V L Kantha Rao, the mines secretary, and Philip Green, the Australian High Commissioner to India, on December 12. Australia produces almost half of the world’s lithium and is the second-largest producer of cobalt. Both lithium and cobalt are used in EVs and consumer electronics

The Indian Express had previously reported that the mines ministry plans to support central PSUs like Coal India, NTPC, and Steel Authority of India in the acquisition of critical mineral assets overseas by sharing proposals received through partner countries in the US-led Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), of which Australia is also a part. PM Prasad, the chairperson of Coal India, representatives of which were present in the luncheon meeting in January, shared that a company team has visited mining sites in Australia and that talks are in the “preliminary stage only”, in the Q3FY24 earnings call.

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