Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL), India's overseas critical minerals PSU, has received environmental clearance from the Government of Argentina to begin deep exploration of five brine-based lithium blocks in the Catamarca province, it was reported on April 11, 2026. The clearance marks a significant step in New Delhi's strategy to secure lithium for the domestic electric vehicle, battery and renewable energy supply chain. KABIL is a joint venture of three central public sector enterprises under the Ministry of Mines — National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) and Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Limited (MECL) — and was incorporated on August 8, 2019 with an authorised capital of ₹500 crore. The company has been tasked with identifying, acquiring and developing overseas assets in 12 strategic critical minerals including lithium, cobalt and rare earths. Argentina, along with Bolivia and Chile, forms the so-called "lithium triangle" that holds over half the world's lithium resources. KABIL is parallelly pursuing critical mineral assets in Australia and Chile. India currently imports almost all of its battery-grade lithium, making overseas acquisitions essential for its 30 per cent EV adoption target by 2030. The Catamarca exploration will now move into deep drilling, geological assessment and brine chemistry analysis, leading eventually to a full mining and extraction proposal. The development is aligned with the National Critical Mineral Mission and policy reforms under the MMDR Amendment Act, 2023.