Shares of Indian ore miner National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) dipped 4.05 percent on Friday, April 21, a day after the company announced that it is exploring lithium reserves 124.3 miles (about 200 km) off Perth, Australia.
"We are in the process of exploring in Australia but we can't give a timeline when we would be able to start the mining," D K Mohanty, director of production at NMDC stated at a conference.
During Friday’s trade, the stock opened at a price of Rs. 111.95 per share against the previous close of Rs. 112.20 per share and fell further to touch an intraday low of Rs. 107.65. At 10:30 a.m., it was trading at Rs. 108.85, down by 2.99 percent on the NSE.
The stock touched a 52-week high of Rs. 131.80 on January 13, 2023 and a 52-week low of Rs. 70.27 on July 15, 2022, indicating that at the current levels, the stock is trading 55 percent above its 52-week low and 17.4 percent below its 52-week high.
The stock has shown a decline of a little over 2 percent in the past one month. Moreover, the shares have dipped almost 17 percent in the last six months.
India currently lacks a lithium reserve of its own and imports lithium-based products like lithium-ion batteries to suit its needs. In the state of Jammu & Kashmir, where further information that will determine the profitability of mining is anticipated, the nation announced its first lithium discovery in February.
The country is ramping up its efforts to promote the use of greener vehicles by looking to acquire overseas mines in order to secure supplies of lithium, a key raw material used to make electric vehicle batteries. The country is seeking to obtain lithium from some of the world's top producers.
The NMDC is set to begin mining operations at its majority-owned mine in Mt Bevan, Australia, in the next two years, according to an official.
NMDC produces approximately 35 million tons per annum of iron ore from three mechanized mining complexes, two in Chhattisgarh and one in Karnataka which supply ore in the form of lumps and fines for production.
According to a MintGenie poll, 19 analysts on an average have a ‘STRONG BUY’ call on the stock.