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India's lithium hunt leads NMDC to Russia

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Officials from NMDC traveled to Russia last month to explore prospective lithium mining and processing ventures, engaging in preliminary talks with entities including Rosatom. The outreach fits into a wider strategy supported by a recently approved 28.14 billion rupee incentive package designed to expand local refining capacity for lithium and nickel. Although a Rosatom spokesperson stated it is not currently holding discussions, NMDC has assembled a dedicated 12-member due diligence team targeting critical mineral assets across multiple continents. Russia holds extensive lithium reserves that could eventually supply India once major domestic mining projects achieve commercial production.

Key points

  • Expanding domestic processing incentives aims to decrease India's current reliance on pri…: Expanding domestic processing incentives aims to decrease India's current reliance on primary mineral import sources like China, Vietnam, and Ecuador.
  • Russia holds significant critical mineral deposits but currently lacks the commercial ope…: Russia holds significant critical mineral deposits but currently lacks the commercial operations necessary to immediately supply overseas partners.
  • Industry groups consider Russia a viable long-term alternative source to support India's…: Industry groups consider Russia a viable long-term alternative source to support India's future critical mineral supply chains.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

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NMDC officials visited Russia last month for a conference and also held talks with state nuclear firm Rosatom, two of the people said.

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The third person, who also confirmed that company officials had met with Rosatom, said NMDC was keen to explore lithium mining and processing opportunities in Russia and had also held discussions with other Russian companies.

All three people, who asked not to be named as the talks were confidential, said discussions between NMDC and Rosatom remain preliminary.

A Rosatom spokesperson did not address Reuters queries about the meetings last month but said the Russian company was not currently engaged in talks with NMDC.

NMDC did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

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