India is in talks with Brazil, Canada, France and the Netherlands on potential deals to jointly explore, extract, process and recycle critical minerals, as New Delhi widens its global push to secure supplies of key raw materials, news agency Reuters reported, citing sources.
The discussions are focused on lithium and rare earths, the sources reportedly said, adding that India is also seeking access to mineral-processing technologies. The people declined to be named because the talks are confidential.
India's heavy reliance on arch rival China who dominates global supplies of several critical minerals and has advanced mining and processing capabilities calling an urgency for New Delhi to diversify sources as it accelerates its energy transition to cut emissions, mining experts told the news agency.
Even so, translating discoveries into production can take years. Exploration alone can run for five to seven years and often ends without a commercially viable mine, the experts said.
India aims to replicate parts of a critical minerals agreement it signed with Germany in January, which covers exploration, processing and recycling, along with the acquisition and development of mineral assets in both countries and in third countries, the report added, citing the sources.
NDTV Profit could not independently verify the developments.
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Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney is likely to visit India in early March and sign agreements covering uranium, energy, minerals and artificial intelligence, the persons reportedly added. However, there has been no confirmation from any of the representatives of the other countries.
India has been scouting globally for critical minerals, signing pacts with Argentina, Australia and Japan, and holding talks with Peru and Chile on broader bilateral agreements that also include critical minerals.
The country's expanding international engagement comes as finance ministers from the G7 and other major economies met in Washington last month to discuss ways to reduce dependence on rare earths from China.
In 2023, India identified more than 20 minerals including lithium as “critical” to its energy transition and to meet rising demand from industry and the infrastructure sector.
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