Critical minerals and battery recycling company Lohum is set to operationalise its newly acquired lithium mines in Zimbabwe in a month or two, targeting production of 30,000 tonne of lithium carbonate equivalent per year, even as the ongoing West Asia crisis has pushed procurement costs up by as much as 50%. The company has set a revenue target of Rs 10,000 crore by 2029, backed by planned capital expenditure of Rs 2,500-3,000 crore, Rajat Verma, founder and CEO, tells Saurav Anand in an interview. Excerpts. Lohum has traditionally been known as a recycler. Is the company now formally diversifying into the mining sector, and what does that strategic shift look like on the ground?