Reddy: Private sector key to securing critical minerals overseas
G Kishan Reddy says the private sector must lead overseas acquisitions of critical minerals, with lithium blocks in Argentina already under exploration.
Union Minister of Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy has said that enabling India's private sector to acquire critical mineral assets abroad and bring the raw material home is the country's pressing priority, as New Delhi works to cut its reliance on imports.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the CII Global Summit in New Delhi, Reddy said the government is encouraging and motivating private companies to expand their overseas operations, which would help secure supplies for high-technology and consumer industries.
He said Indian missions abroad and foreign embassies in India could serve as channels for companies looking to enter mineral-rich countries, where they could take up land acquisition, mining and semi-processing before shipping material back to India.
"More than PSUs, going to the private sector and bringing critical minerals to India is the need of the hour," Reddy said, adding that the government is in talks with several companies.
The minister underlined the wide role of critical minerals in the economy, noting that demand spans sectors from mobile phones and space technology to household appliances and cameras. He said India, which currently depends on foreign sources for these resources, wants to become self-sufficient, and that exploration activity within the country has increased.
Several memoranda of understanding have been signed in the segment, and Reddy said he would meet representatives from different countries, stressing that development is not possible without critical minerals.
On lithium, the minister said the resource is scarce in India despite domestic exploration efforts. India has acquired five lithium land blocks in Argentina, where exploration work is under way, and is in talks with Australia and Chile. Private companies are being encouraged to acquire lithium blocks abroad, with cooperation proceeding at both government-to-government and private-to-private levels.
Domestically, the government is expanding recycling and refining capacity through urban mining. Reddy cited the National Critical Mineral Mission's incentive scheme of Rs 36,000 crore and said 25-30 per cent of India's critical mineral needs could be met by extracting them from e-waste.
Under an initial phase backed by an outlay of Rs 1,500 crore, the ministry has shortlisted 58 recycling entities from 125 applicants, with individual allocations referred to NITI Aayog.
Four mineral processing plants are also being set up across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha to handle imported raw materials, domestic reserves and recycled output.