5 months ago
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The Union Cabinet’s caller ₹7,280 crore rare-earth magnet scheme acknowledges a elemental truth: digging without processing is conscionable exporting prosperity. The new G-20 framework connected captious minerals besides makes worth instauration done refining and manufacturing its centrepiece. For India, which has reformed its mining laws but inactive lacks large-scale processing, this is simply a timely reminder. Every star panel, electrical vehicle, and upwind turbine begins not connected an assembly enactment but successful a refinery, wherever ores are turned into battery-grade graphite, magnet-ready uncommon earths, oregon ultra-pure polysilicon. Yet, astir each this processing happens extracurricular India, expanding the vulnerability of home proviso chains. That vulnerability has grown arsenic U.S.–China commercialized frictions trigger caller tariffs and export restrictions.
In caller years, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act has been amended to enactment home mining done exploration licences, nationalist auctions, mining-associated minerals, and a nationalist mineral exchange. These reforms assistance america dig, but they bash not assistance america refine. India inactive imports astir each its lithium, nickel, and cobalt. And the stakes widen acold beyond cleanable energy. High-purity materials are besides captious for semiconductors, telecommunications, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and defence systems. Processing gaps, therefore, exposure not conscionable our vigor modulation but the full economy.
The midstream conception of the captious minerals worth chain—processing and refining—remains a planetary chokepoint. China controls implicit 90% of uncommon world and graphite refining, astir 80% of cobalt, and 70% of lithium chemicals. In October 2025, Beijing briefly weaponised these proviso chains, imposing controls connected uncommon world magnets, lithium-ion batteries, graphite anodes, and processing technologies. Although these were suspended aft U.S. commercialized talks, the model remains intact, and reversible. Without home processing, India volition enactment exposed to specified shocks. Allies are already moving to unafraid their midstream. The precocious inked U.S.–Japan and U.S.–Australia captious minerals frameworks present necktie financing straight to section refining. India indispensable bash the same: scaling up its processing and refining capacity, opening with the minerals it already produces oregon recycles. The precocious approved ₹1,500 crore captious minerals recycling strategy is simply a promising start.
A recent study by the Council connected Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) shows India mines and processes 7 captious minerals applicable for cleanable vigor and defence: copper, graphite, silicon, tin, titanium, uncommon earths, and zirconium. Yet, successful each case, refining lags down successful either standard oregon quality. Domestic graphite reaches 92–99% purity, portion batteries request 99.95% spherical graphite. Rare earths are processed into oxides but not separated into the metals required for magnets. And India’s tin accumulation meets hardly 1 per cent of demand. Closing these gaps volition necessitate semipermanent investments, proprietary know-how, and a skilled workforce.
Here are 5 steps India tin instrumentality to make captious mineral processing successful India.
First, crook Centres of Excellence into innovation engines. The 9 Centres of Excellence (CoEs) nether the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) indispensable thrust applied probe for producing high-purity compounds and materials aligned to downstream manufacture needs. In the abbreviated term, their precedence should beryllium processing processing technologies acceptable for commercialized usage (technology readiness level 7–8), with wide metrics connected purity, recovery, cost, and waste. IITs, NITs, industry, and deliberation tanks are already part of this ecosystem and indispensable accelerate life-cycle modelling and cost-benefit investigation done collaborative projects that determination innovations swiftly from laboratory to market.
Second, unlock secondary resources to retrieve captious minerals. India generates implicit 250 cardinal tonnes of ember alert ash annually, containing some airy and dense uncommon earths. Red mud from aluminium plants holds gallium; zinc residues incorporate cobalt; alloy slag carries vanadium. Pilot projects astatine CSIR and IITs amusement betterment is possible. Embedding betterment units successful projected Critical Minerals Processing Parks could standard these efforts, provided they are backed by incentives for excavation tailings and residues and co-funded with PSUs and authorities utilities. The Environment Ministry should streamline clearances truthful specified secondary resources tin beryllium utilised efficiently.
Third, bid and upskill a caller procreation of process metallurgists and technicians. India’s metallurgical workforce is mostly trained for bulk metals utilizing pyrometallurgy. Critical minerals, recovered successful low-grade ores, necessitate specialised hydrometallurgical and precocious refining techniques. The ₹100 crore NCMM allocation for skilling should money train-the-trainer programmes, diploma courses, and caller curricula astatine world and CSIR labs, developed with manufacture input. Apprenticeships astatine Hindustan Copper, Hindalco, Vedanta, and different refiners tin supply hands-on experience. This could make thousands of skilled jobs successful states similar Odisha, Gujarat, and Jharkhand, wherever mineral reserves and processing hubs are concentrated.
Fourth, de-risk concern done request assurance and financing tools. Global mineral markets are distorted by artificially debased prices that deter caller entrants. The U.S. Department of Defence’s woody with the U.S.-based MP Materials, offering offtake commitments and terms guarantees, is instructive. India could accommodate this by turning its planned mineral stockpile into an progressive market-maker, buying from home producers during downturns and releasing during request surges. A dedicated model nether the Ministry of Mines could negociate this mechanics done semipermanent contracts. Key sectors specified arsenic defence, pharmaceuticals, and electronics should beryllium encouraged to root portion of their inputs domestically, portion processors should beryllium encouraged to conscionable stringent prime and reliability standards, anchoring request and attracting backstage investment.
Fifth, nexus mineral diplomacy to processing capacity. India’s overseas acquisitions, specified arsenic the five lithium blocks successful Argentina done Khanij Bidesh India Limited and exploration rights successful Zambia, are important but absorption chiefly connected earthy ores. Real leverage lies successful processing strength. If India tin show accordant high-purity refining crossed the 7 minerals it already handles, it tin displacement planetary partnerships from buyer-seller deals to co-investment alliances. A template emerged astatine the Johannesburg summit with the announcement of the Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation Partnership. By explicitly including captious mineral proviso chains successful this trilateral agenda, India has opened the doorway to co-develop processing technologies with large assets holders. The conception of captious minerals parks nether the NCMM could go a level for specified partnerships. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, on with the Ministry of Mines, should besides integrate the processing of captious minerals, on with commercialized and concern opportunities, into bilateral and multilateral economical dialogues specified arsenic G-20, BRICS and IPEF.
China’s caller restrictions connected minerals and exertion are a reminder that power implicit processing equals power implicit power. For India, the question is nary longer whether we person capable mines but whether we tin maestro the signifier that turns ores into usable materials. Processing is the missing nexus that volition determine whether we stay suppliers of earthy worldly oregon go builders of resilient industries. True strategical autonomy lies not successful the mine, but successful the refinery.
(With inputs by Vibhuti Chandhok)
Sunil Kumar is Research Analyst and Rishabh Jain is Fellow astatine the Council connected Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). Views are personal.
