Categories:
Energy
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General Market Commentary
Topics:
General Energy
/
General Market Commentary
Indian govt pushing for JVs to acquire overseas battery mineral assets
The Indian government is considering pushing government-owned mining and mineral processing companies to form joint ventures (JV) to acquire strategic assets overseas.
Senior officials say that JVs will not only combine the mining expertise of these companies across various minerals, but also leverage the strong balance sheets of the companies and offer greater financial muscle in bidding for assets overseas.
The officials cite the example of the board of directors of National Aluminium Company, Hindustan Copper and Mineral Exploration Corporation forming JVs to acquire mineral assets overseas and that other companies could also be pushed to follow a similar model to accelerate the process of such Indian acquisitions.
While any proposed JVs will be given the freedom to select assets to target, the government is inclined toward such ventures focusing on acquiring minerals related to lithium-ion battery technology, including rare earth assets and lithium, given India’s 2030 electric vehicle target.
Meanwhile, in a related development, sources say that Coal India Limited’s (CIL’s) bid to acquire at least 25% equity stake in a coking coal asset in Queensland, Australia, has been put on the backburner, if not scrapped.