The Indian government will help domestic companies, including private entities, to pick up strategic assets in critical mineral spaces such as lithium and nickel in Australia to ensure a steady supply of the ore for the country’s clean tech safari.

It will work with the Australian government to identify companies Down Under engaged in mining which may be acquired by public or private sector companies.

“We expect to identify these companies in the next few months. We are willing to offer the opportunities to our private companies also after having done due diligence on our behalf,” Union mines secretary Vivek Bharadwaj said on Thursday.

India is almost fully dependent on imports for critical minerals which are used in batteries of electric vehicles. However, most of the global production till at least 2030 is already contracted by foreign outfits, especially from China.

The government will also send a team of geologists to Argentina later this month to assess potential lithium deposits in the Latin American country, the mine secretary added, on the sidelines of the Global Mining Summit organised by CII.

Lithium is found in cedemine rock formation and in brine form which is called salar in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile.

Bharadwaj urged industry to look beyond the borders and acquire niche foreign-based organisations specialising in areas such as engineering, design and other aspects.

While the secretary asked industry to go abroad, Sunil Duggal, chairman of CII national committee on mining and group CEO, Vedanta Ltd, sought the government’s policy support to foster exploration of critical minerals which are not found in abundance.