The Indian government is set to introduce a Critical Mineral Mission aimed at enhancing domestic production, recycling and international acquisition of vital minerals. Announced in the Union Budget for 2024-25, this initiative will focus on critical minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements, which are crucial for advancing clean energy technologies like wind turbines, electricity grids and electric vehicles.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman detailed the mission’s objectives, which include developing technology, fostering a skilled workforce, establishing an extended producer responsibility framework, and implementing a suitable financing mechanism. Additionally, the government will commence the auction of offshore mining blocks, expanding on prior exploration efforts.
Offshore mining involves extracting mineral resources from the deep seabed at depths exceeding 200 meters. India currently relies heavily on imported critical minerals, and the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Amendment Bill 2023, passed last year, allows the government to grant exploration licenses for these deep-seated resources.
The list of 30 critical minerals recently released by the government includes antimony, beryllium, bismuth, cadmium, cobalt, copper, gallium, germanium, graphite, hafnium, indium, lithium, molybdenum, niobium, nickel, platinum group elements (PGE), phosphorous, potash, rare earth elements (REE), tantalum, among others.
