Khanij Bidesh, CMFO sign MoU to identify critical mineral assets in Australia

A pact has been signed between Khanij Bidesh India and Australian government's Critical Minerals Facilitation Office (CMFO) to carry out joint due diligence for select projects to identify lithium and cobalt mineral assets in Australia. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the two parties on March 10, 2022, the Ministry of Mines said in a statement.

Earlier, a government-to-government (G2G) MoU was signed between India and Australia through the Ministry of Mines and CMFO for cooperation in the field of mining and processing of critical and strategic minerals, the statement said.

"Now a detailed MoU with a collaborative framework has been signed between KABIL and CMFO on 10th March 2022 for carrying out joint due diligence of select greenfield and brownfield projects to identify lithium and cobalt mineral assets for final joint investment decisions and acquisition of the assets in Australia catering to the critical and strategic ecosystem of both the countries," it said.


According to the statement, the Ministry of Mines had last year created a mining joint venture namely Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) in order to ensure mineral security and to attain self-reliance in the area of critical and strategic minerals.

KABIL is mandated to identify and acquire overseas mineral assets of critical and strategic nature such as lithium and cobalt, among others. This initiative aims at giving further fillip to Aatmanirbhar Bharat and will cater to the requirements of crucial sectors such as e-mobility, renewable energy, medicine, aerospace, aviation etc.