India Launching National Mission For Critical Minerals

ENA Sectors 2024-12-24 16:45:22 New Delhi, Dec 24 (KNN) India is preparing to launch a comprehensive national mission for critical and strategic minerals in 2025, marking a significant step toward advancing its green energy transition and electric vehicle manufacturing capabilities. The initiative, announced by Mines Secretary V L Kantha Rao, will bring together multiple ministries, industries, research institutions, and global think tanks in a coordinated effort to secure sustainable mineral supplies crucial for future technologies. Rao told PTI, In 2025 we will launch the Critical Mineral Mission. This will be a mission that will have six to seven ministries, a lot of industry, R&D institutions and think tanks working together. The mission comes at a time when global demand for critical minerals is surging, with the World Bank projecting a nearly 500 percent increase in production requirements for minerals like lithium and cobalt by 2050 to meet clean energy technology demands. The International Energy Agency further predicts that the growth in electric vehicles and battery storage will amplify the demand for these minerals by at least 30 times by 2040. India has already made substantial progress in this direction, successfully auctioning 24 critical and strategic mineral blocks across four rounds. The government has also established Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL), a joint venture company comprising National Aluminium Company Ltd, Hindustan Copper Ltd, and Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Ltd, to explore and acquire strategic mineral assets abroad, with a particular focus on opportunities in Australia. The country's push for critical minerals extends beyond green energy applications to support its semiconductor industry ambitions. As India aims to become a global hub for semiconductor manufacturing a sector projected to reach one trillion dollars globally by 2030 securing a stable supply of these essential minerals becomes increasingly crucial. The government has also initiated its first auction of offshore mineral exploration blocks, offering 13 mines to potential investors. Industry leaders have expressed optimism about the mission's potential. Vedanta Ltd Chairman Anil Agarwal highlighted India's substantial rare earth deposits, which exceed those of Australia and Canada, emphasising the need for sustainable and high-tech exploration methods. Hindustan Zinc CEO Arun Misra noted that the metals and mining sector is positioned for robust growth as India progresses toward becoming a five trillion dollar economy, with particular emphasis on metals like zinc, silver, and cobalt for the energy transition. (KNN Bureau) 40377 https://knnindia.co.in/news/newsdetails/sectors/india-launching-national-mission-for-critical-minerals 2024-12-24 16:45:22 knnindia.co.in India Launching National Mission For Critical Minerals