Khanij Bidesh India
KABIL is a Government of India joint venture (NALCO, HCL, MECL) that identifies, explores, acquires, and develops overseas critical mineral assets—primarily lithium and cobalt—to supply India's EV, renewable energy, and defense sectors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersNew Delhi, India
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Khanij Bidesh India does
Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) is a joint venture company incorporated on 8 August 2019 under the Companies Act 2013, owned by three Government of India public sector enterprises in the ratio NALCO 40%, HCL 30%, and MECL 30%, and operating under the administrative control of the Ministry of Mines. Its mandate is to identify, explore, acquire, develop, mine, process, and procure strategic minerals from overseas for supply into the Indian domestic market, addressing India's roughly 93% import dependency for critical minerals and exposure to China's dominance in rare earth refining.
KABIL's core offerings are (i) Critical Minerals Acquisition and Exploration and (ii) Overseas Mineral Asset Management. The company applies conventional geological mapping, sampling, and lithium brine extraction techniques rather than proprietary AI-driven systems. Its flagship asset is the exploration and exclusivity rights for five adjacent lithium brine blocks (Cortadera I, Cortadera VII, Cortadera VIII, Cortadera VI, and Cateo2022-01810132) covering 15,703 hectares in Argentina's Catamarca province, secured under an agreement with the state-owned CAMYEN, with field exploration commencing on 4 October 2024. Additional partnership MoUs are active with Australia's Critical Minerals Office, Chile's ENAMI, the UAE's International Resource Holdings consortium, and India's CSIR-IMMT for technical cooperation.
The business model is sales-led but structured as Government-to-Government (G2G) and Government-to-Business (G2B) partnerships rather than commercial sales. KABIL is capitalized at INR 500 crore authorized and INR 100 crore paid-up, funded by its three promoter CPSEs whose combined market capitalization is approximately US$3 billion and whose combined workforce is around 7,800 across geology, mining, mineral processing, and metallurgy. Revenue and pricing are not publicly disclosed; the company is pre-production, and its customer base is effectively the Indian government ecosystem including ministries, PSUs, and domestic EV battery, renewable energy, and defense manufacturers.
Khanij Bidesh India firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Khanij Bidesh India
- Legal name
- Khanij Bidesh India Limited
- Website
- https://kabilindia.in
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- KABIL is a Government of India joint venture (NALCO, HCL, MECL) that identifies, explores, acquires, and develops overseas critical mineral assets—primarily lithium and cobalt—to supply India's EV, renewable energy, and defense sectors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Khanij Bidesh India industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Critical Minerals Supply
- NAICS
- Other Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying (21239)
- SIC
- Metal Mining (1000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Lithium Mining & Brine Extraction (IMAKAFAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Exploration & Resource Development (Critical Minerals) (IMAKAFAL), Mine Development & Processing EPC (Critical Minerals) (IMAKAFAM), Natural Resources — Energy & Mineral Resources (FSAAAKAJ)
Keywords
Where Khanij Bidesh India is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New Delhi
- HQ country
- India
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices2 records
Markets served
Khanij Bidesh India business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Critical Mineral Supply to India: KABIL identifies, explores, acquires, develops, mines, and processes strategic minerals overseas for supplying primarily to India to meet domestic requirements. The minerals are intended to support India's clean energy transition, electric mobility, and defense manufacturing sectors.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels2 records
Khanij Bidesh India product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) identifies, explores, acquires, develops, mines, processes, and sources strategic and critical minerals outside India primarily to meet domestic requirements. The company focuses on battery and defense-grade minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earths through government-to-government (G2G) and government-to-business (G2B) partnerships in countries including Argentina, Australia, and Chile.
Product overview
KABIL operates as a single unified service offering focused on securing India's critical mineral supply chain through overseas exploration and acquisition. The company identifies, explores, acquires, develops, mines, processes, and sources strategic minerals (primarily lithium and cobalt for battery applications) from countries including Argentina, Australia, and Chile. KABIL serves as a bridge between India's domestic manufacturing needs and global mineral resources, supporting the nation's clean energy transition and electric vehicle manufacturing ambitions under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. The company functions as a joint venture vehicle for the Government of India, Ministry of Mines, combining expertise from NALCO, HCL, and MECL.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Critical Minerals Acquisition and Exploration KABIL identifies, explores, acquires, develops, and mines strategic minerals outside India to supply domestic requirements, with a primary focus on battery minerals including lithium and cobalt for India's clean energy transition and EV manufacturing sector.
- Overseas Mineral Asset Management Management of international mineral assets acquired through government-to-government (G2G), government-to-business (G2B), and business-to-business (B2B) arrangements. Currently managing lithium brine blocks in Argentina's Catamarca province and conducting due diligence on lithium and cobalt projects in Australia.
Companies that use Khanij Bidesh India
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Khanij Bidesh India technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Khanij Bidesh India partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- International Resource Holdings (IRH), UAEflagshipKABIL along with Oil India Limited (OIL) and ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) signed MoU with International Resource Holdings (IRH), UAE for global collaboration in supply chain including project identification, due diligence, development strategy, risk management, and offtake strategy.
- CAMYEN (Catamarca Minera y Energética Sociedad del Estado)coreKABIL signed an agreement with Argentina's state-owned CAMYEN to obtain exploration and exclusivity rights for 5 adjacent lithium brine blocks covering 15,703 hectares in Catamarca province. The blocks include Cortadera I, Cortadera VII, Cortadera VIII, Cateo2022-01810132, and Cortadera VI. Exploration activities started on 4th October 2024.
- ENAMI (Empresa Nacional de Minería), ChileflagshipNDA signed with ENAMI, Chile's state-owned mining company, in May 2023 for pursuing lithium mining projects. An Indian delegation led by NITI Aayog, including CEO KABIL, visited Chile in October 2019 to explore cooperation areas. Team of geoscientists planned to visit Chile for further collaboration.
- Critical Minerals Office (CMO), Government of AustraliacoreMoU signed between KABIL and Critical Minerals Office, Government of Australia in March 2022 for joint due diligence on selection of Lithium and Cobalt projects for KABIL investment and sourcing of battery minerals to India. Due diligence of projects is in progress.
- NITI AayogcoreIndian delegation led by NITI Aayog, including CEO KABIL, visited Chile in October 2019 for exploring possible areas of cooperation in lithium mining assets. NITI Aayog plays a role in strategic planning for critical mineral partnerships.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Khanij Bidesh India competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Sigma Lithium Corporation: Sigma Lithium is a Brazilian hard-rock lithium developer with commercial production from the Grota do Cirilo project. Although focused on spodumene rather than brine, Sigma shares KABIL's mandate as a Latin American critical minerals supplier serving global battery markets.
- SQM (Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile): SQM is one of the world's largest lithium brine producers, operating in Chile's Salar de Atacama. KABIL's MoU with ENAMI in Chile targets the same geographic resource base, and SQM's operations define the competitive and pricing dynamics KABIL would face in the Chilean lithium sector.
- Lithium Argentina AG: Lithium Argentina (formerly Lithium Americas Argentina) is a direct peer that operates the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium brine project in Jujuy, Argentina. It shares KABIL's focus on Argentine lithium brine development and serves similar downstream battery-grade lithium offtake markets.
Broad incumbents
- Tianqi Lithium: Tianqi Lithium is a major Chinese integrated lithium producer with interests in the Greenbushes mine in Australia and global processing assets. It competes with KABIL in the same critical mineral supply markets and represents the type of large-scale incumbent KABIL's Australian due diligence faces.
- Ganfeng Lithium: Ganfeng Lithium is one of the world's largest lithium compound producers with global mining, processing, and battery recycling operations. As a major Chinese-backed incumbent, Ganfeng competes with KABIL for international lithium resources and downstream offtake.
- Albemarle Corporation: Albemarle is the world's largest lithium producer with operations across the US, Chile, and Australia. As a global incumbent, Albemarle competes with KABIL for upstream lithium assets and supplies the same downstream EV battery and energy storage customers that KABIL targets.
Emerging players
- Mineral Resources Limited: Mineral Resources is an Australian diversified mining company with significant lithium exposure through the Mt Marion joint venture and ongoing processing investments. KABIL's Australian partnership portfolio overlaps with Mineral Resources' operating footprint in critical minerals.
- Pilbara Minerals: Pilbara Minerals operates the Pilgangoora hard-rock lithium mine in Western Australia. KABIL's Australian due diligence on lithium and cobalt projects places it in direct comparison with Pilbara's Australian lithium operations and offtake counterparties.
- Core Lithium: Core Lithium is an Australian lithium developer that commenced spodumene concentrate production at Finniss in the Northern Territory. As an emerging Australian producer, Core Lithium is comparable to KABIL's exploration-stage position in Australia and competes for the same junior project pipeline.
Regional players
- International Resource Holdings (IRH): IRH is a UAE-based strategic critical minerals investment vehicle that signed an MoU with KABIL, Oil India, and ONGC Videsh in September 2024. While not a direct competitor, IRH operates a comparable state-backed critical minerals mandate in a different geography, making it a structurally similar peer.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Khanij Bidesh India social profiles
Digital presenceKhanij Bidesh India financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Khanij Bidesh India leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Khanij Bidesh India funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Khanij Bidesh India M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Khanij Bidesh India
What does Khanij Bidesh India do?
Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) identifies, explores, acquires, develops, mines, processes, and sources strategic and critical minerals outside India primarily to meet domestic requirements. The company focuses on battery and defense-grade minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earths through government-to-government (G2G) and government-to-business (G2B) partnerships in countries including Argentina, Australia, and Chile.
Is Khanij Bidesh India a public or private company?
Khanij Bidesh India is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Khanij Bidesh India founded?
Khanij Bidesh India was founded in 2019. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Khanij Bidesh India based?
Khanij Bidesh India is headquartered in New Delhi, India, in the Asia region.
How does Khanij Bidesh India make money?
One revenue line is on record: critical Mineral Supply to India.
Who are Khanij Bidesh India's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Sigma Lithium Corporation, SQM (Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile) and Lithium Argentina AG. Broad incumbents are Tianqi Lithium, Ganfeng Lithium and Albemarle Corporation. Emerging players are Mineral Resources Limited, Pilbara Minerals and Core Lithium. International Resource Holdings (IRH) is listed as a regional player.
Does Khanij Bidesh India have an API?
No public API is recorded for Khanij Bidesh India.
What industry is Khanij Bidesh India in?
Khanij Bidesh India's product category is Critical Minerals Supply. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAKAFAA, Lithium Mining & Brine Extraction, with a secondary code of IMAKAFAL, Exploration & Resource Development (Critical Minerals). Its NAICS code is 21239 and its SIC code is 1000.