Coal India Limited (CIL) has moved to expand into critical minerals after its board approved the incorporation of an intermediate holding company in Chile to pursue opportunities in lithium and copper, subject to regulatory approvals from the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and the Ministry of Coal. The decision follows closer economic ties between India and Chile as the countries move nearer to finalising a free trade agreement. Chile's geological endowment includes significant reserves of lithium, copper, rhenium, molybdenum and cobalt which are important inputs for electronics, automobile manufacture and solar energy deployment.

The commerce and industry minister had indicated that negotiations were expected to conclude soon and that the pact would provide domestic businesses greater access to critical minerals. CIL will hold 100 per cent equity in the proposed intermediate holding company in Chile with incorporation contingent on the requisite Indian approvals. The move is presented as strategic diversification beyond coal into minerals that support energy transition and manufacturing supply chains.

The board also approved an equity infusion of Rs 31.3296 bn in a proposed energy joint venture with Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), forming part of an indicative project cost of Rs 208.864 bn with a debt to equity ratio of 70:30. Officials described the infusion as CIL's contribution to the joint venture structure and said the investment would proceed subject to customary approvals. The board cleared a separate equity investment of Rs 31.8954 bn in its subsidiary Bharat Coal Gasification and Chemicals Limited (BCGCL) to fund a coal-to-ammonium nitrate project.

The coal-to-ammonium nitrate facility is planned in Odisha and is expected to have an annual capacity of 0.66 million tonne (t) per annum, with the project currently at the pre-implementation stage. The approval covers CIL's equity contribution towards its promoter stake in the joint venture and is intended to support domestic fertiliser and chemical production. Taken together the package of approvals amounts to roughly Rs 63 bn in proposed and approved investments and signals CIL's broader industrial repositioning.