3 November 2024

India’s Quest For Critical Minerals – OpEd

Prionka Jha

India needs to carefully craft its import strategy to circumvent potential trade risks while balancing international ties for procuring minerals critical to accelerating its energy transition, a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) states.

IEEFA’s report examines five critical minerals (and their compounds) – cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium and nickel – from the perspective of import dependency, trade dynamics, domestic availability and global price fluctuations. It finds that India remains largely dependent on imports for these minerals and their compounds, with 100% import dependency for minerals like lithium, cobalt and nickel.

Further, the report notes that the demand for critical minerals is expected to more than double by 2030, while domestic mines will take more than a decade to start producing.

“India should strive to de-risk its critical minerals sourcing by identifying new international resources and expediting domestic production. A concerted effort to partner with and foster bilateral relations with mineral-rich nations should be a priority for India,” says the report’s co-author Charith Konda, Energy Specialist, IEEFA.

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