After scouting for critical minerals in Australia and some African nations, India is now in preliminary talks with Sri Lanka to acquire graphite blocks for mining, sources aware of the development told FE.
“We had a discussion with Sri Lanka on Monday. They have the purest form of graphite and are ready to cooperate with India,” one of the official sources said. Graphite Block
Earlier in January, the mines ministry held two meetings with industry stakeholders to discuss opportunities for mining of critical minerals in Sri Lanka and Australia.
The ministry is now in the preliminary stage of discussion with the island nation and is likely to prepare a Memorandum of Understanding soon. “Firstly, we will prepare an MoU and then will form Joint Working Groups to take it forward,” said another source. “Teams from both the countries will review what are the possibilities. Private companies will also go.”
The government’s primary motive is to procure reserves of important minerals across the world, the source noted, adding that the government is keen to promote participation of private companies in the segment.
The island nation holds large reserves of vein graphite, one of the purest forms of natural graphite. Graphite, also categorized under critical minerals, is used in lithium ion batteries which typically find use in making of electric vehicles (EVs).
Apart from exploring mineral reserves overseas, the government is also pushing domestic mining of critical minerals via auction. In its second tranche of critical minerals auction, 6 out of 18 blocks put under auction contain graphite with three each in Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh.
The country imported $38.68 million of natural graphite in the financial year 2023-24, up almost 6% from $36.59 million in FY23, data from the commerce ministry showed.
Additionally, the government is in discussions with 20 different countries for exploration of minerals of which 13-14 countries are said to have critical minerals reserves, as per the source.
Some other countries where the government is scouting for possible critical mineral reserves are Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Brazil, Chile, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Argentina. The mines ministry intends to add more countries to the list.
In Tanzania too, the government is eyeing graphite reserves along with reserves of niobium which is used in making aircraft parts and alloys, while in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the government will look for reserves of copper and cobalt.
Carbon Graphite Rotor In Pump HCL Technologies Ltd reported a 10.5% increase in profit for the fiscal second quarter, surpassing estimates. Revenue from operations also saw a growth of 8.2%, with an EBITDA of Rs 5,362 crore. The company announced an interim dividend of Rs 12 per share for the financial year 2024-25, with a record date of October 22, 2024 and a payment date of October 30, 2024.