Indian delegation to visit Chile, seek stake in SQM's lithium projects

Indian officials will visit Chile next week to discuss plans for four state companies to take a stake in two lithium projects of the world's No. 2 producer of the metal, SQM, a source said.

The world's fastest-growing major economy has ramped up efforts to secure a steady supply of lithium as demand rises for the metal used in electric vehicle batteries, key to emissions reduction efforts in the world's third-largest emitter.

Government-backed Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL), Coal India, Oil India, and ONGC Videsh are in talks with SQM for stakes of 20 per cent in its Mount Holland and Andover projects in Australia, Reuters reported last week.

The Indian delegation will hold discussions with top SQM executives when it travels to Chile next week for a global copper conference, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the talks were not public.

Executives from state-run Hindustan Copper and leading private copper firms Hindalco Industries and JSW are also expected to visit Chile, the source said.

Hindustan Copper told Reuters it will send a few executives to Chile to attend the copper conference and hold other meetings.

The mines ministry, Hindalco, and JSW did not respond to emails from Reuters to seek comments.

India and Chile held talks this week to renew a preliminary pact on geology and mineral resources.

This week Chile's state-owned Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, said it would supply copper concentrates to the $1.2-billion smelter of India's Adani Group, which is the world's largest single-location plant of its kind.

Codelco has also signed a separate preliminary pact with Hindustan Copper to collaborate on exploring and processing minerals.

India's copper imports have surged since the 2018 closure of Vedanta's Sterlite Copper smelter, which produced around 400,000 metric tons of the metal.

It has recently stepped efforts to strike overseas deals for access to critical minerals in resource-rich countries such as Argentina, Australia, and Chile.

New Delhi is also exploring an initial agreement with cobalt-rich Congo.