India must pick up pace in race for rare earths

In last month’s G20 summit at Johannesburg, Chinese Premier Li Qiang chose to connect with 19 mineral exporting countries and offered them finance and technical cooperation in mineral extraction, separation and processing.

- BK SINGH

Critical minerals and rare earths extracted in African, southeast Asian and south American countries are shipped to China for processing. Already a major supplier, China is further strengthening its position in the supply chain of these metals and minerals.

The minerals are used in green energy technologies like EV batteries, solar cells, wind turbines, transmission cables and also in defense manufacturing such as drones, missiles, fighter aircrafts, satellites and are critical for the development and security of any nation. While China controls more than 50 per cent of rare earth minerals, it has very little control (less than 10 per cent) on upstream minerals. Upstream minerals like Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, Vanadium, Graphite and copper are essential for green technologies like EVs, solar and wind. More so, upstream minerals are required in the initial stages of the supply chain.

Lithium, nickel and cobalt are used for EVs and energy storage. Copper is used for electrical wiring. Silicon, tellurium, niobium, beryllium, germanium, gallium, indium, tungsten and vanadium are used in solar panels, defense and advanced technologies. On the sidelines of G20, China launched an “initiative on green minerals” with all the partners who control upstream minerals. The Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia have cobalt and copper; Zimbabwe and South Africa have lithium and manganese, and Indonesia has nickel. The demand for these are projected to surge by 2040 and China has cleverly forged alliances with these countries, so as to control the supply chain.