The efforts are part of India's membership to the US-led Minerals Security Partnership, which the Asian country joined last year to secure adequate supplies of minerals to achieve zero-carbon goals.

The state-owned Coal India Limited is exploring lithium blocks in Argentina together with an unnamed US company to secure lithium supply, an Indian source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.

The efforts are part of India's membership to the US-led Mineral Security Partnership (MSP), which the Asian country joined last year to ensure adequate supplies of minerals to meet zero carbon emission targets.

India has been exploring ways to secure supplies of lithium, a critical raw material for making electric vehicle batteries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government last year identified 30 minerals --including lithium, nickel, titanium, vanadium and tungsten-- as critical to boost the adoption of clean energy in his country, today the most populous in the world and one of the largest emitters of CO2 into the atmosphere.

India and the United States said on Monday they were jointly investing in a lithium resource project in South America and a rare earth deposit in Africa to diversify supply chains for critical minerals.

India has been talking to several countries, including the United States, to collaborate in lithium processing and avoid dependence on China, it emerged this year.

"Coal India has shown interest in the Kachi block in Argentina, which a US company and two other countries are interested in exploring under the MSP," said the source, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the negotiations. 

So far, preliminary studies are being carried out, the source added.