India sets lithium mining royalty at 3% of LME prices

NEW DELHI, Oct 11 (Reuters) - India set royalty rates on Wednesday for the mining of three critical minerals, including lithium, that are key to its clean energy ambitions.

The royalty rates for lithium extraction by mining companies will be fixed at 3% of prices prevailing on the London Metal Exchange (LME), the government said in a statement.

India has been exploring ways to secure supplies of lithium, a critical raw material used to make electric vehicle batteries, and found its first lithium deposits in February in the federally controlled region of Jammu & Kashmir.

In June, Reuters reported that the government planned to fix the royalty rate for lithium extraction at 3%.

The government also set the royalty for niobium mining at 3% of the average sale price, and for rare earth oxide at 1% of the average sale price.