NEW DELHI: State-owned CIL is actively working on acquiring a lithium block in Argentina and is eyeing a critical mineral block in Australia, the company’s chairman-cum-managing director P M Prasad on Wednesday.
“In Argentina we are actively working... the teams visited Argentina two to three times. We had government-to-government interaction,” Prasad told reporters during the curtain-raiser of the 11th Asian Mining Congress and 11th International Mining Exhibition.
The search for lithium block is also underway in Australia, he said.
Critical minerals, including lithium, play an important role in the production of clean energy technologies, from wind turbines to electric cars. They are particularly in demand for the production of batteries for electric cars.
The chairman said there will be no coal shortage at electricity generating units this year.
“There will be no shortage this time like last year. Our coal stock at pithead at present is 106 million tonnes,” he added.
Coal India Ltd (CIL), which accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal production, is targetting a production of 875 million tonnes (MT) in this financial year. The company’s dispatch target for FY26 is 900 MT, he said.
CIL produced 781.1 MT of coal in 2024-25, falling 7 per cent short of its 838 MT target. From April 16, coal prices will rise by Rs 10 per tonne, a move expected to have a minor impact on profitability and support the Coal Mines Pension Scheme-1998.