India, U.S. working to scale up partnership on critical minerals
- India and the U.S. are looking to “quickly” conclude a bilateral agreement on furthering cooperation on critical minerals
- The U.S. Department of Commerce, the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Mines, are to drive a partnership in supply chains for graphite, gallium, and germanium.
Highlights:
- One of the aims will be to promote
- “India’s vital role in the mineral security partnership, including through co-investing in a lithium resource project in South America and
- a rare earths deposit in Africa, to responsibly and sustainably diversify critical mineral supply chains,”
- India released a list of 30 minerals critical for the country and has been looking to acquire mines abroad in addition to expanding exploration within the country.
- To enable this, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 was amended through the MMDR Amendment Act, 2023.
- India has incorporated a joint venture company Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL) with contribution from three Central Public Sector Enterprises —
- National Aluminium Company Ltd,
- Hindustan Copper Ltd and
- Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Ltd with
- The objective of acquiring critical mineral assets abroad to ensure consistent supply of critical minerals to the Indian domestic market.
- KABIL is presently exploring opportunities for acquisition of critical minerals assets like lithium and cobalt in Australia, Argentina and Chile.
Prelims Takeaway
- India- USA
- iCET