Page 187 - CW E-Magazine (21-11-2023)

Special Report

cal minerals for India and notify the also aspiring to join the Critical Mate- tion and production by augmenting the
critical mineral strategy from time rials Club organized by the EU. The existing capacity.
to time. idea is to gain access to advanced
exploration and extraction technologies The recent policy and legislative
Need to ensure availability and ensure hassle-free supplies. steps to open mining of six of these
As the clean energy transition is critical minerals for the private sector
advancing across the world leading to Three-pronged strategy could lead to discovery of new reserves
a rapid growth in the demand for criti- As we do not have domestic re- in India and help reduce criticality by
cal minerals, several new projects are sources for minerals like lithium, cobalt, reducing supply risks. Mining in deep
being developed to supply sufficient and nickel we have to fully depend seated locations need huge investments
material to support the national climate on imports. For minerals like graphite and advanced technologies for explora-
pledges announced by governments. and titanium, the import dependency tion and extraction. The lithium finds
Still, more efforts are needed to ensure is more than 50%. The Government in the Salal-Haimana area of the Reasi
that supply chains are rendered secure of India has adopted a three-pronged district of Jammu and Kashmir identi-
and sustainable through collaboration strategy to ensure availability of critical fied by the Geological Survey of India
among countries. minerals to its development. (GSI) is estimated to have a reserve of
5.9-mt.
The India-US Joint Statement in Efforts include
2022 reiterated the intention of the A robust domestic recycling eco- Adequate precaution should be

two governments, as trusted partners, system and the recovery of minerals exercised to see that the private entities
to work together to ensure that our res- from waste stream such us electro- entering the hitherto-forbidden mining
pective markets are well-supplied with nic waste and discarded vehicles; business shall not plunder the area for
the essential critical minerals needed Revitalising exploration, and pro- profit motives, instead they may be

to achieve our climate, economic and duction to augment existing facili- guided by sustainable mining practices
strategic technology cooperation goals. ties; and to extract critical minerals for the
The leaders pledged to hasten bilateral Tying up partnerships with key mine- country’s benefit with least burden to the

collaboration to secure resilient critical ral producing countries to set up environment.
minerals supply chains through enhan- joint exploration and mining opera-
ced technical assistance and greater tions to ensure a regular supply of Beach sand mining
commercial cooperation and explora- these minerals to India. The beach sands along the coasts of
tion of additional joint frameworks as Kerala, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and
necessary. By leveraging advanced technolo- Tamil Nadu are rich in atomic mine-
gies and knowledge acquired through rals, especially monazite, the raw mate-
The G20 Leaders’ Declaration at global partnerships, India can upgrade rial for the extraction of thorium, which
New Delhi in September 2023 also its domestic processing and manufac- constitutes the primary fuel for India’s
exhorted the need to support reliable, turing capabilities, to meet own de- third stage nuclear development pro-
diversified, sustainable and respon- mand. gramme.
sible supply chains for energy transi-
tions, including for critical minerals Currently, India’s import dependency Currently only Indian Rare Earths
and materials beneficiated at source, is 100% for Li, Co, Ni, V, Ge, Rh, Be, Ltd. (IREL) is mining and BARC is
semiconductors and technologies, and Ta, and Sr. processing the monazite minerals.
acknowledged the Presidency’s voluntary Ilmenite is mined by PSUs, IREL
high- level principles for collabora- Revamp exploration and production and Kerala Metals and Minerals Ltd.
tion on critical minerals for the energy A direct approach to reduce import (KMML) only. The titanium and zirco-
transitions. dependency and consequent supply nium industry in the country also need
risk is to boost domestic production to further expand, considering the rising
India is a member of the US-led wherever possible. For copper and demand for its derivatives facilitated
Mineral Security Partnership of 13 other such critical minerals with large by all around growth in infrastructure,
countries and the EU. The partnership domestic reserves and high economic aviation & aerospace, manufacturing,
intends to promote investment in critical importance, India will need to deploy energy production, maintenance, and
minerals supply chain globally. India is an approach of ramping up the explora- repairs. Despite pressure from many

Chemical Weekly November 21, 2023 187

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