Rites Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding with Hindustan Copper Ltd. on Friday to jointly develop a rapid, reliable and sustainable supply chain of metals and minerals, including critical minerals in India and overseas.
The two government-owned companies will focus on exploration, extraction, refining and production activities in India and overseas, leveraging the technical and financial strengths of both organisations, a press release said.
The collaboration includes participation in mineral block auctions and the development of mining infrastructure.
Under the deal, Rites will provide end-to-end consultancy and logistics solutions, including project planning, transport infrastructure development, multimodal transport planning and rolling stock support to strengthen Hindustan Copper's mining operations.
On this occasion, Hindustan Copper Limited, a CPSE under the Ministry of Mines, signs an MoU with RITES Limited, under the Ministry of Railways, to secure a rapid, reliable & sustainable supply chain of metals & minerals, including critical minerals. The partnership will focus on… pic.twitter.com/eoBWrwNV40
June 6, 2025India has increased its focus on securing supplies of critical minerals like lithium and cobalt, which are necessary to develop electric cars and green energy grids.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday underscored the dangers of global supply chains for critical minerals being overly dependent on a few geographies, warning that such concentration can pose serious risks to global economic development.
Speaking at a joint press conference alongside Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in Brescia, Italy, Goyal said it was "important that the world recognises the dangers of critical minerals supply and processing being concentrated in particular geographies", without naming any country.
Goyal's remarks also come in the backdrop of China's recent decision to tighten export controls on rare earth magnets — materials crucial for electric vehicles, wind turbines and electronics.
With China currently accounting for over 90% of the world's magnet supply, the move has heightened global anxiety over supply-chain vulnerabilities and accelerated efforts by countries like India to localise production and reduce strategic dependencies.
India has recently signed multiple MoUs with countries, including Australia and the EU, to diversify sourcing and support domestic processing capacity.
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