The Quad (United States, Japan, India, and Australia) launched the Initiative to strengthen cooperation on priorities such as securing and diversifying reliable supply chains, and electronic waste (e-waste) critical minerals recovery and re-processing. 

• The Initiative will expand the Quad’s cooperation on supply chain resilience measures for critical minerals. 

Need for Critical Minerals Initiative

• Diversifying Supply Chain: : Production and processing of many critical minerals are geographically concentrated, making global supply vulnerable to several risks such as political stability, etc.
  • E.g., Democratic Republic of Congo supplies ~70% of the world's cobalt. 
  • China refines 68% of the world’s cobalt, 65% of nickel, and 60% of lithium. 
• Economic & National Security: E.g., In 2024, China banned exports of gallium, germanium, and other key materials to the US (weaponising critical mineral exports). 
• Other: Inadequate recycling infrastructure, etc. 

What are Critical Minerals?

• About: Critical minerals are naturally occurring elements or compounds including lithium, cobalt, nickel, etc.
  • These are classified as critical due to high demand (diverse applications), supply risks, etc.
    • Applications: Industry (Electric Vehicles, Electronics); Defence (Radars, Missiles); Clean Energy (Battery storage, Solar Modules), etc.