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Indian critical-minerals firm Lohum said on 9 September 2026 that it had dispatched its first shipment of lithium ore from its mining blocks in Zimbabwe's Matabeleland South Province.
It is the first Indian company to produce lithium from overseas mining assets.
Lohum holds rights to 10 lithium blocks covering about 1,100 hectares, with estimated deposits of 30-40 million tonnes of ore and potential of about 300,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent.
Initial processing will be done in Zimbabwe, which bars the export of unprocessed lithium ore, with refining into lithium carbonate in India.
The company targets about 30,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate a year from the Zimbabwe operations within two to three years.
Lithium is the core cathode metal in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles and grid storage. India's own reserves are barely proven, so securing ore at the source abroad and refining it at home is the way to keep battery costs and import dependence down.
Simple Analogy: Buying the farm rather than the groceries.
GS Paper 3 > Indian economy, energy and mineral resources; GS Paper 1 > World geography, distribution of key natural resources; GS Paper 2 > India and Africa
General Awareness > Economy, world geography, current events
Consider the following statements: I. India has joined the Minerals Security Partnership as a member. II. India is a resource-rich country in all the 30 critical minerals that it has identified. III. The Parliament in 2023 has amended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 empowering the Central Government to exclusively auction mining lease... for certain critical minerals. Which of the statements given above are correct?
Answer: I and III only
A standard measure that expresses different lithium-bearing materials as an equivalent quantity of lithium carbonate.
Processing raw ore to raise the concentration of the valuable mineral; Zimbabwe mandates it domestically before export.
A narrow belt of mafic and ultramafic rock across Zimbabwe holding chromium, nickel, platinum-group metals and asbestos.