India to appoint nodal officers in its overseas missions in countries with large mineral reserves

In a bid to increase access to more critical minerals, India is looking to appoint nodal officers in its overseas missions in countries with large mineral reserves. The process was initiated after the Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy had met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as part of a concerted effort to replace piecemeal exploration efforts by SAIL, KABIL (Khanij Bidesh India Limited) and several other PSUs.
The move involves active exploration of Cobalt, Copper, Lithium and other critical minerals in 15-20 countries as India is also looking to tap into private sector investment potential in the domain. The plan involves the use of 170+ years of experience in the Geological Survey of India (GSI) in countries lacking similar experience and technologies.

With Zambia having agreed to allow India to explore Copper and Cobalt in an area of 9,000 square kilometres on a government-to-government basis, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) is slated to engage in exploration in the African country over the next three years. The larger plan’s focus would be on countries like the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Bolivia, Argentina, the Copper-Cobalt belt around the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). While PSU KABIL and Greenko have invested in greenfield projects in Argentina in the past one year, the Australian government is working with the Indian PSU KABIL to develop mineral assets in the island continent.

Also Read: CNBC-TV18 newsbreak confirmed | Cabinet approves India-Israel MoU on critical minerals