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Business Standard

GSI team to visit Zambia to map and explore copper blocks this week

A five-member team of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Limited (MECL) will visit Zambia this week to map and explore copper blocks, a top official said. This is part of India's national critical minerals mission (NCMM), which aims to extend support to Indian public and private sector companies for mapping and exploration of critical mineral assets in resource-rich countries. Critical minerals are essential for clean energy technologies like solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles (EVs), and energy storage systems. India heavily depends on these imports to meet its domestic needs for lithium, cobalt, and nickel. The demand for these minerals is estimated to more than double by 2030. 'A few days ago, we finalised our Zambia visit. A team of five geologists, including one from MECL, has left for Zambia for mapping and taking the exploration to the next level. The focus is on their copper at this moment, but we will see what else we can find once we are there,' GSI director general Asit Saha told Business Standard in New Delhi. 'The block size is around 9,000 square km. We will be working over a period of three years. It is a reconnaissance visit to set up logistics on ground and the area will be finalised later,' he added. The Zambian government agreed to give 9,000 square km to India for exploration of cobalt and copper, mines Secretary V.L. Kantha Rao had said at a press conference in February. India is exploring mining of critical minerals in Zambia, Congo and Australia, Rao said. It aims to secure raw materials such as lithium under the NCMM. In January, India launched the NCMM to establish a robust framework for self-reliance in the critical minerals sector. Under this mission, the GSI has been tasked with conducting 1,200 exploration projects from 2024-25 to 2030-31. However, the GSI head said that the number of exploration projects will be more than 1200. The Kolkata-headquartered GSI had said in January that it charted an extensive roadmap for the 2025-26 field season with around 1,065 scientific programmes. They include 402 mineral development projects and a 16 per cent jump in the number of critical mineral initiatives. The government approved ₹163 billion ($1.88 billion) to develop the critical minerals sector. All these started with lithium in Jammu and Kashmir. The government, in February 2023, found its first lithium deposits there with estimated reserves of 5.9 million tonnes. It failed to get any bids to auction mining rights in the state. In November 2022, India identified 30 critical minerals, including lithium, as critical for its energy transition efforts and to meet the growing demand from industries and the infrastructure sector.