India's Strategy for Critical Minerals and Rare Earths

India's transition to clean energy heavily relies on imported critical minerals and rare earths. With China tightening its export controls, India is striving to diversify its mineral trade linkages and enhance domestic capabilities. The country has formulated a two-pronged approach—building long-term domestic capabilities while securing immediate international access.

International Partnerships

• Australia:
  • Offers political stability and strategic vision.
  • Active cooperation with investments in lithium and cobalt under the India-Australia Critical Minerals Investment Partnership.
• Japan:
  • Provides a model for resilience through diversification and stockpiling.
  • Partnership extended to joint extraction and processing, including stockpiling minerals.
• African Nations:
  • Opportunities due to mineral abundance and existing trade linkages.
  • Engagements with Namibia for lithium, rare earths, uranium, and Zambia for copper and cobalt.
• United States:
  • Cooperation struggles due to tariffs and restrictive trade policies.
  • Initiatives like the TRUST Initiative propose frameworks for rare-earth processing and technology collaboration.
• European Union:
  • Regulations like the Critical Raw Materials Act align sustainability with industrial strategy.
  • Opportunities exist for aligning with EU standards on transparency and environmental norms.

Other Regions

• West Asia:
  • Potential midstream partner with investments in battery materials and refining capacity.
• Russia:
  • Substantial reserves but constrained by sanctions and logistical issues.
  • Could serve as a diversification hedge.
• Latin America:
  • New frontiers in Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Brazil for copper, nickel, and rare-earths.
  • KABIL engaged in a significant agreement with Argentina.
• Canada:
  • Potential strong partner with reserves of nickel, cobalt, copper, and rare earths.
  • Political stability is crucial for sustained engagement.

Challenges and Recommendations

• Processing Capability:
  • India's vulnerability lies in its lack of domestic refining and midstream capabilities.
  • Technology and project implementation are crucial.
• Strategic Vision:
  • India needs to have a clear strategic vision for existing partnerships.
  • Strengthening domestic frameworks for responsible mining is essential, focusing on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues.

India has successfully established a network of critical mineral partnerships. The next steps involve refining effective strategies, enhancing technology and processing capabilities, and ensuring long-term certainty in partnerships.