In its first overseas deal, India has acquired exploration and production rights for lithium blocks in Argentina, marking a strategic move to diminish reliance on China for the essential green technology metal.
Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi said the "historic" $24 million deal will ensure a "resilient and diversified supply chain for critical and strategic materials."
Lithium is a key component in batteries for energy storage and electric vehicles.
India is one of the world's top greenhouse gas emitters, but is also pushing its production of electric vehicles and has vowed to become carbon neutral by 2070.
The world's fastest-growing major economy, India imported $33 million worth of lithium in 2022-2023, according to government figures.
More than two-thirds were imported from China.
"The project will help India strengthen lithium supplies, while developing lithium mining and downstream sectors," Joshi said on X in comments late Monday.
Argentina, along with Chile and Bolivia, together form what analysts call the "lithium triangle", a region that experts estimate holds more than half of global lithium resources.
The five-block deal was signed between state-owned Khanij Bidesh India and Argentina's state-owned Camyen SE in the Catamarca province, the source of some of Argentina's largest lithium deposits.
India last year found its first lithium deposits in Jammu and Kashmir, with estimated reserves of 5.9 million tonnes.
(AFP)
Curator Emma Slocombe with ikat robes and arabachi coats in the Peter the Great Room in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
View of the entrance to Blickling Hall on a rainy autumn dayAmit Roy 
Kente cloth from Ghana in the Long Gallery in Blickling Hall 
Decoration in the Great Hall at Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Palampore fragment made in coastal south-east India in the Brown Room in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Bed valance dating from early 1700s in the Italian Print Room at Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Indian inspired fabric draped on sofas in the South Drawing Room in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Indian inspired fabric draped on sofas in the South Drawing Room with Indian carpet in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Karun Thakar has picked out the geometric patterns in the bookcase and the Kente cloth in the Long Gallery in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Large tapestry depicting Peter the Great defeating the Swedish army at the Battle of Poltava in 1709 Amit Roy 
ikat robes and arabachi coats in the Peter the Great Room in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Baghs and kanthas made by women provide contrast to the men only portraits in the Great Hall at Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Baghs and kanthas in the entrance Great Hall at Blickling Hall Amit Roy
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Kimono in Upper Ante Room in Blickling Hall 
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Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Table carpet, European 1670-1680 Amit Roy 
Unfinished 17th century Italian embroidery in the Print Room at Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Picture of Kashmir shows a romantic view of India Amit Roy 
A panel of Ashburnham bed hangings made in Gujarat for sale in Europe in the Brown Room in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Colcha made in the 1600s by women in Bengal for the Portuguese market in the Long Gallery at Blickling Hall Amit Roy
