The move follows China expanding export curbs last year raising risks for auto and electronics sectors reliant on critical minerals.
Coal India is scouting partnership opportunities in rare earth mining across Australia, Russia, Argentina, Chile and several African countries as India seeks to reduce dependence on China-led supply chains, a senior executive said.
The move follows China expanding export curbs on rare earth minerals late last year raising concerns for industries such as automobiles, electronics and renewable energy that rely heavily on the critical materials. Coal India is exploring both overseas and domestic investments and is also in talks with other companies to collaborate in the sector the executive said.
Manoj Kumar Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd told Reuters that the initiatives are at an early stage but will involve investments and partnerships in India as well as abroad. Domestically Coal India plans to work with state owned firms including IREL Khanij Bidesh India Ltd and Hindustan Copper.
Funding for the partnerships will come from proceeds of BCCL’s $119 million initial public offering which closed earlier this week after being oversubscribed nearly 147 times. The offering consisted solely of existing shares with no fresh issue and the company is scheduled to list on Monday.
In addition to rare earth ventures BCCL plans to acquire coking coal mines in Australia and Russia within the next two to three years, Agarwal said. The company aims to increase its coking coal production capacity to 56 million tonnes per annum by the 2030 financial year from 40.5 million tonnes at the end of financial year 2025.
