Context
- India is looking to ramp up its critical mineral play in Africa as it keys resource securitization and an upsetting of the Chinese apple cart in the region.
Critical Minerals
- These are minerals that are essential for economic development and national security.
- The lack of availability of these minerals or the concentration of extraction or processing in a few geographical locations could potentially lead to “supply chain vulnerabilities and even disruption of supplies”.
Applications of Critical Minerals
- Clean technologies initiatives such as zero-emission vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels, etc.
- Critical minerals such as Cadmium, Cobalt, Gallium, Indium, Selenium, and Vanadium have been used in batteries, semiconductors, solar panels, etc.
- Advanced manufacturing inputs and materials such as defense applications, permanent magnets, and ceramics.
- Minerals like Beryllium, Titanium, Tungsten, Tantalum, etc. have been used in new technologies, electronics, and defense equipment.
- Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) are used in medical devices, cancer treatment drugs, and dental materials.
List of Critical Minerals
- Different countries have their unique lists of critical minerals based on their specific circumstances and priorities.
- A total of 30 minerals were found to be most critical for India, out of which two are critical as fertilizer minerals: Antimony, Beryllium, Bismuth, Cobalt, Copper, Gallium, Germanium, Graphite, Hafnium, Indium, Lithium, Molybdenum, Niobium, Nickel, PGE, Phosphorous, Potash, REE, Rhenium, Silicon, Strontium, Tantalum, Tellurium, Tin, Titanium, Tungsten, Vanadium, Zirconium, Selenium and Cadmium.
Indian Presence in Africa
- In Tanzania, India is pitching for access to resources such as niobium and graphite; in Zimbabwe for lithium, copper, and cobalt in Congo and Zambia.
- India signed an MoU with the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire for collaboration in the field of geology and mineral resources.
| Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL)
– It was formed in 2019 as a joint venture of state-run miners NALCO, HCL, and MECL to source strategic minerals such as lithium and cobalt, etc. from abroad. – KABIL carries out the identification, acquisition, exploration, development, mining, and processing of strategic minerals overseas for commercial use and meeting the country’s requirement for these minerals.
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Chinese Presence
- In Congo, China is said to control over 5 percent of the cobalt processing facilities.
- Chinese companies are estimated to own 80 percent of Tenke Fungurume, a copper-cobalt mine, which produces nearly 12 percent of the world’s resources.
- Around 95 percent of the stake in a yet-to-be-developed cobalt and copper project Kinsafu was picked up by the Chinese.
- In Zimbabwe, substantial Chinese investments are being made towards securing lithium.
| Mineral Security Partnership (MSP)
– It is a US-led collaboration of 14 countries that would focus on the supply chains of minerals such as Cobalt, Nickel, Lithium, and also the 17 ‘rare earth’ minerals. – Members: Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Norway, Sweden, the UK, the U.S., and the EU. – Mandate: To catalyze public and private investment in critical mineral supply chains globally. It directly addresses four major critical mineral challenges: a. Diversifying and stabilizing global supply chains; b. Investment in those supply chains; c. Promoting high environmental, social, and governance standards in the mining, processing, and recycling sectors; and d. Increasing recycling of critical minerals. |
Way Ahead
- Critical minerals have become essential for economic development and national security in the country.
- Minerals such as Lithium, Cobalt, etc. have gained significance given India’s commitment towards energy transition and achieving net-zero emission by 2070.