India's KABIL Completes Phase II Drilling in Argentina, Eyes Expansion and Critical Mineral Supplies

India’s first mining initiative in Argentina, Khanij Bidesh India (KABIL), has progressed significantly with the completion of its Phase II of drilling. The mine is located in Catamarca province of Argentina. Both countries are now engaged in expanding operations to other prospective mines. Opportunities are now being explored for further engagement in the provinces of Salta and Jujuy to deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries, a Commerce Ministry statement on the fourth meeting of the India-Argentina Joint Trade Committee (JTC) said. The talks on expansion of critical minerals partnership were figured at the JTC meeting held on August 24 in Buenos Aires. The Indian delegation was led by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal, while the Argentine delegation was led by Secretary for International Economic Relations Fernando Brun. KABIL is a public sector joint venture of Nalco, Hindustan Copper and Mineral Exploration Consultancy under India’s Ministry of Mines. It has signed an exploration and development contract with the state-owned company of Argentina and has obtained exclusivity rights for exploration and development of lithium blocks in the Catamarca province of Argentina. In April, the Argentine government granted a formal environmental clearances to KABIL, enabling deep exploration, borehole drilling, and brine sampling. Argentina is part of the South America Lithium Triangle, which also includes Chile and Bolivia. This region holds 50-60% of the world’s identified lithium resources. India’s proposed trade agreement with Chile also has provisions of critical mineral trade. India is looking for lithium mines overseas to secure a reliable supply of critical minerals for electric vehicles and clean energy. The discussions at the JTC meeting also noted progress in facilitating the entry of Indian agricultural products into the Argentine market. “Technical-level discussions on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures are advancing for Indian onions, milk and milk products, grapes, potatoes, bananas and pulses, marking an important step towards their market access,” a statement by the Department of Commerce said. Significant progress was also made in facilitating market access for Indian pharmaceutical products. Argentina has committed to work towards upgrading India from Annex II to Annex I under its pharmaceutical regulatory framework and reducing barriers to entry. Notably, for Argentina, Annex I countries include the US, the UK, the European Union, Japan and Australia, among others, which are recognised as having stringent regulatory standards, while Annex II has countries include India and China. Annex I countries get faster approvals to sell pharmaceutical goods in Argentina and have to go through less compliances. Argentina is also part of the Mercosur trade bloc with which India has a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA). Talks are on to expand the PTA from 450 tariff lines at present and Terms of Reference (ToR) for the discussions to move ahead is being drafted. Apart from official meetings, the Commerce Secretary also led the first and largest-ever Indian business delegation to Argentina, comprising more than 25 business leaders, including representatives from UPL (earlier United Phosphorus), Kirloskar and Aditya Birla Group. The delegation engaged with the Argentine business community. The meeting of India–Argentina Business Forum was held on 25 August.