Tata Steel to explore opportunities in lithium, other battery-minerals

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A company spokesperson said that Tata Steel, through its natural resources division, will study economically viable opportunities in the sector related to metal batteries, including lithium.

The Department of Natural Resources has been in operation for several decades to assist with captive mining related services. In 2021, the division started providing commercial services under the direction of Tata Steel Industrial Consultancy to other companies in the mining field. The division may now also consider participating as an exploration agency in battery minerals, subject to economic viability, according to a company spokesperson.

“Yes, if there are economically viable opportunities to explore various resources of battery minerals, we will consider participating in it as an exploration agency along with our partners,” a Tata Steel spokesperson said in response to an inquiry whether opportunities in lithium and other related opportunities will be considered. Consider minerals under this division.

In April, Tata Steel announced a business cooperation agreement with MN Dastur & Company Pvt. Ltd., an engineering consulting organization. “This agreement with MN Dastur & Partners will complement our capabilities and capabilities, especially in the field of mine infrastructure planning and bank feasibility report preparation,” the company said in its April announcement.

Tata Group, in June, also signed a deal with the Gujarat government to set up a lithium-ion cell plant with an investment of around Rs 13,000 crore for an initial manufacturing capacity of 20 gigawatt-hours (GWh).

Presently, India has no operational domestic exporter of lithium and relies on imports for its lithium-ion battery requirements. In February, the Geological Survey of India for the first time identified an inferred lithium (G3) resource of 5.9 million tonnes in the Salal-Himana area of ​​the Raisi district of Jammu and Kashmir. The steelmaker’s natural resources division is one of 14 companies listed as Private Exploration Agencies (NPEA) by the Ministry of Mines.

“Typically, mineral companies have a lot of mining experience in terms of their raw material requirements, so mine development, exploration and extraction have dedicated teams. These companies may be interested in looking at a particular product because the demand”.

Tata Steel did not disclose the size of the order book for this division, which won after the commencement of commercial operations. The spokesperson added that the revenue generated from commercial services is also expected to help reduce the company’s administrative costs.