New Delhi: Coal India Limited (CIL) has incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary in Singapore, CIL Global Pte Ltd, to acquire critical minerals assets overseas, the Maharatna miner told the stock exchanges in a filing on Monday. The entity was incorporated on August 24 under Singapore Unique Entity Number 202638847Z. CIL holds 100 percent of it.
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The company set out the mandate in its disclosure. The subsidiary has been established "to explore and develop overseas opportunities in the field of critical minerals asset acquisition, enable an efficient management of overseas investments, and provide structural flexibility for future acquisitions," the filing said.
CIL has subscribed to 5 lakh shares at one Singapore Dollar per share. The consideration is 100 percent equity investment. The industry classification given in the annexure is mining.
The filing lists the Ministry of Coal and the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) as the governmental and regulatory approvals required for the incorporation.
The disclosure refers back to CIL's letter of March 23, when the board approved setting up an intermediate holding company in Singapore. The five-month interval covers the approval and registration process.
CIL Chairman and Managing Director B Sairam said in May that the company intended to set up subsidiaries in both Chile and Singapore during the current financial year. He said the Singapore entity would serve as CIL's platform for Australia-focused collaborations in critical minerals, rare earth elements, copper and coking coal.
On the Chilean lithium block, Sairam said CIL had completed due diligence and was awaiting government clearance. "If approvals from the Chilean government come through, we may be able to start the mining processes there within two-three years," he said.
Reuters reported on August 20, citing two sources, that CIL had applied to Singapore authorities to register an office, and that the entity would also support trading in iron ore and critical and strategic minerals. The filing describes the subsidiary's purpose in terms of asset acquisition and management of overseas investments. It does not mention trading.
CIL accounts for over 80 percent of India's coal production. Its critical minerals portfolio is at an early stage. The company won its first non-coal mineral asset in July 2024, the Khattali Chotti graphite block in Alirajpur district of Madhya Pradesh, under the second tranche of the Ministry of Mines auction. "Coal India Ltd (CIL) has successfully opened its account in domestic critical mineral asset emerging as the preferred bidder for Khattali Chotti graphite block in Alirajpur district of Madhya Pradesh," the company said at the time.
Sairam said in May that the Oranga-Revatipur graphite and vanadium block in Chhattisgarh had reached an advanced stage, with mining expected to start in three to four years. "The investment requirement is around Rs 430 crore, while projected revenue potential over the 10-year mine life is estimated at around Rs 2,500 crore," he said. "This will effectively be Coal India's first mining activity outside coal, and that too in critical minerals," he added.
CARE Ratings, in a press release dated April 27, noted that CIL had emerged as preferred bidder for two domestic graphite blocks. "The segment is currently at a nascent stage and significant investment in the same shall remain key monitorable," the rating agency said.
The overseas move is not CIL's first. About a decade ago it ran a coal project in Mozambique through Coal India Africana Limitada.
Critical minerals are the non-fuel minerals on which battery manufacturing, electric vehicles, solar and wind equipment, grid infrastructure, semiconductors and defence systems depend. India has no meaningful domestic production of most of them and imports the bulk of its requirement.
The Ministry of Mines identified 30 critical minerals for India in 2023. Twenty-four of these were placed in Part D of Schedule I of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, giving the Centre exclusive authority to auction mining leases and composite licences for them.
Sameer Patil of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) said China produced 68 percent of global rare earth elements and 70 percent of graphite in 2022, and processed 90 percent of rare earth elements and 74 percent of cobalt. He said close to 70 percent of India's lithium imports come from China. China's export restrictions on rare earth magnets have disrupted supply chains across several markets, including for Indian EV manufacturers.
The government launched the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) in January 2025 to run to 2030-31. It carries a government outlay of Rs 16,300 crore, with a further Rs 18,000 crore expected from public sector undertakings, taking the headline figure to Rs 34,300 crore.
Overseas asset acquisition is an explicit pillar of the mission, with public sector undertakings expected to secure 26 mines abroad and private firms 24. CIL Global is a vehicle through which CIL can bid for that share.
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Singapore is a common jurisdiction for holding structures because of its tax treaty network, currency convertibility and established mining and commodity finance ecosystem.