According to Mining Weekly, citing Reuters, an executive from Coal India’s coking coal division said on Thursday that the company is exploring partnership opportunities for rare earth mining in Australia, Russia, Argentina, Chile and several African countries.
Manoj Kumar Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), told Reuters that Coal India plans to invest both domestically and overseas, not only in exploration but also through joint development with other companies.
“We will invest both within India and abroad. We are not only looking at exploration but also partnering with other companies to develop rare earth metals. This is still at an early stage,” Agarwal said.
Coal India is also pursuing domestic cooperation opportunities. Agarwal said the company plans to work with Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL), Khanij Bidesh India, and Hindustan Copper on projects within India.
The investments for these partnerships will be funded using proceeds from BCCL’s initial public offering (IPO). The IPO raised US$119 million and closed on Tuesday, with subscriptions reaching nearly 147 times. The offering consisted solely of existing shares, with no new shares issued, and BCCL is expected to list next Monday.
Agarwal added that over the next two to three years, BCCL also plans to acquire coking coal mines in Australia and Russia.
The company aims to increase its annual coking coal production capacity from 40.5 million tonnes in 2025 to 56 million tonnes by the 2030 financial year, he said.
Investors are betting that BCCL will benefit from India’s infrastructure construction boom, as steel is a key industrial material for infrastructure development, and coking coal is a critical input in steelmaking.
[出处 – 上海有色网] 印度煤业在海外寻找稀土项目 https://news.smm.cn/news/103727161
