Rare earth and critical minerals are becoming increasingly important because they are needed for electric vehicles, batteries, renewable energy, electronics, telecommunications, defence equipment, aerospace, and other advanced industries. India has identified 30 critical minerals, including lithium, cobalt, copper, graphite, nickel, titanium and rare earth elements.
India is also working to reduce dependence on overseas mineral supplies. The country is focusing on exploration, domestic mining, processing, recycling, and securing mineral resources from other countries.
Major Companies and Their Roles
1. IREL (India) Limited
IREL is one of India's key companies in the rare-earth sector. It mines and processes beach-sand minerals and has facilities for rare-earth extraction and refining. Its work supports India's domestic rare-earth processing capacity.
2. Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL)
HCL is India's major copper mining company, with mines in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand. Copper is important for power systems, electronics, electric vehicles and infrastructure.
3. NMDC
NMDC has extensive experience in exploration and large-scale mining. Its capabilities can support India's efforts to develop domestic supplies of critical minerals.
4. NALCO and KABIL
NALCO is part of Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL), along with Hindustan Copper and Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Limited. KABIL works on securing critical-mineral resources from overseas, including minerals such as lithium and cobalt.
5. Hindustan Zinc
Hindustan Zinc is also exploring opportunities in the wider critical-mineral sector, including exploration for minerals such as tungsten, potash and rare earth elements.
Role in India's Mineral Needs
These companies are involved in different parts of the mineral supply chain:
- Exploration: Finding new mineral deposits.
- Mining: Extracting minerals from Indian resources.
- Processing: Converting mined material into usable products.
- Overseas sourcing: Securing minerals from other countries.
- Recycling: Recovering valuable minerals from used products and waste.
- Technology: Developing better methods for mineral processing and refining.
Overall Importance
India's challenge is not only finding critical minerals. The country also needs processing plants, refining technology, skilled workers, recycling systems and reliable supply chains. Companies working across these areas can therefore play an important role in building India's long-term mineral supply and supporting industries such as EVs, renewable energy, electronics and defence.