State-owned Coal India Limited (CIL) is making strides toward acquiring a lithium block in Argentina while also exploring critical mineral assets in Australia, according to Chairman-cum-Managing Director PM Prasad. Speaking at the curtain-raiser event for the 11th Asian Mining Congress and International Mining Exhibition, Prasad highlighted multiple visits by teams to Argentina and government-level discussions to advance the acquisition process.
Additionally, CIL is actively scouting for lithium resources in Australia, aligning with the growing demand for critical minerals essential for clean energy technologies, including wind turbines and electric vehicle batteries.
Addressing coal supply concerns, Prasad assured that there would be no shortage at power plants this year, with 106 million tonnes of coal currently stocked at pitheads. CIL, responsible for over 80% of India’s coal output, has set a production target of 875 million tonnes (MT) for FY25 and aims to dispatch 900 MT in FY26.
Despite producing 781.1 MT in 2024-25, falling short of its 838 MT target, CIL announced a ₹10 per tonne price hike on coking and non-coking coal from April 16 to support the Coal Mines Pension Scheme-1998.
