Nalco HCL and MECL inks joint venture to form Khanij Bidesh India Ltd

KOLKATA: National Aluminium Company (Nalco), Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) and Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd (MECL) have formally inked the joint venture (JV) agreement to form Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) to scout for strategic mineral assets like, lithium and cobalt, abroad.

The JV company will be involved in acquisition, exploration & processing of strategic minerals abroad for commercial use and for supply to meet domestic requirement. While Nalco will hold 40 % stake, HCL and MECL will have equity share of 30% each in the joint venture company.

While twelve strategic minerals have been identified, the initial focus will be on lithium and cobalt assets. The preliminary due-diligence of identified assets shall be initiated soon, an official statement issued on Thursday said.


The JV agreement among the three stakeholders was signed by Tapan Kumar Chand, chairman cum managing director (CMD), Nalco, Santosh Sharma, CMD, HCL and Ranjit Rath, CMD, MECL in the presence of Prahallad Joshi, Union Minister for mines, coal & parliamentary affairs.