Australia Will Now Supply Lithium, Other Critical Minerals To India

Australia has committed to supplying critical minerals, like cobalt and lithium, to augment India’s electric vehicles, solar power, defence and other strategic segments. During the Australian visit of India’s Minister for Coal and Mines, Pralhad Joshi, Australia’s Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia, Madeleine King held that the island country would commit AUD 5.8 million towards the three-year India-Australia Critical Minerals Investment Partnership.

Australian government has said that lithium is a promising investment as the country is the largest producer of lithium and has second largest lithium resources in the world.

Madeleine King stated, “Australia has the resources to help India fulfill its ambitions to lower emissions and meet growing demand for critical minerals to help India’s space and defence industries, and the manufacture of solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles. Australia welcomes India’s strong interest and support for bilateral partnership, which will help advance critical minerals projects in Australia while diversifying global supply chains.”

She further held that Australia is a trusted supplier of resources and energy to India, and the two countries can build on the success of those established supply chains as Australia’s critical minerals sector witnesses growth.

The supply chain of critical minerals in the world has suffered a setback due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas has also been restricted by the armed conflict to emerge as a major source of lithium for the global market. Against such a backdrop, Australia is emerging as an option for the world to source lithium and other resources.

Recently, an agreement was signed between India’s Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) and Australia’s Critical Minerals Facilitation Office (CMFO). The pact will facilitate the two organizations to source lithium and cobalt from Australia to India. Pralhad Joshi stated, “Both CMFO and the Indian JV KABIL will jointly fund the due diligence process with an initial total amount of US$6 million. Once due diligence is completed and potential projects are identified, we will explore investment opportunities through different methods as envisaged in the MoU.”

India has also inked packs with lithium resource rich countries including Bolivia, Chile and Argentina to secure a strong growth of domestic EV sector.