Page 178 - CW E-Magazine (18-6-2024)

Special Report Special Report

Efforts to step up domestic production of critical where India’s domestic capabilities are ores. Therefore, competition to acquire Argentina, India is actively scouting
at a nascent stage. Therefore, there is a the Katghora mine is likely to be much
for acquiring critical mineral assets in
minerals crucial for India’s energy security requirement for incentivising domestic higher compared to the J&K block. Chile, Australia, and several African
nations including Zambia, Namibia,
capability in critical mineral process-
ing technologies like benefi ciation and However, given the inferior grade Congo, Ghana, and Mozambique.
he preliminary stage of explo- energy security earlier to mineral GIRISHKUMAR KADAM leaching. of explored domestic ores, advance-
ration for most of the domestic security now. Senior Vice-President & Group Head ment in mineral beneficiation/pro- Moreover, to strengthen the criti-
Tblocks that are currently being Corporate Sector Ratings Advancement in mineral benefi cia- cessing technology remains critical for cal mineral supply chain, India recently
auctioned, suggests that their commer- Dominance of China ICRA tion/processing technology critical commercialisation of domestic critical became the fourteenth member, and the
cialisation and associated benefi ts are Global deposits of critical minerals The Government is auctioning two mineral resources”. only developing country of the US-led
unlikely to fully accrue in the current are more concentrated than most indus- fore, India’s downstream manufacturing lithium blocks in the ongoing auctions. Mineral Security Partnership, a block
decade ending 2030. Therefore, India’s trial minerals, fossil fuels, and hydro- facilities remain exposed to potential The one in Jammu & Kashmir has clay Acquiring overseas assets consisting of large buyers and sellers of
downstream manufacturing facilities carbons. Additionally, China dominates future supply shocks of critical minerals deposits. While the technology for Apart from developing domestic critical minerals.
are likely to remain exposed to poten- the processing and refi ning of critical in the interim period. extracting lithium from hard-rock and critical mineral resources, the GoI is
tial future supply shocks of critical minerals, controlling between 65-100% brine deposits has matured, that for parallelly looking at acquiring overseas To supplement India’s scarce do-
minerals in the intervening years. of the global capacity to make battery Need for incentivising domestic extracting lithium from clay deposits assets from key resource-rich regions mestic primary resources of critical
grade lithium, cobalt, manganese, and capability remains untested globally. Given these like South America, Australia, and minerals, through policy interventions
India’s lack of reserves of critical graphite. Therefore, critical mineral The grades of materials used in challenges, the J&K lithium block re- Africa as an alternate measure to ensure like the Battery Waste Management
minerals necessary for the green transi- global supply chains remain exposed to green technologies are signifi cantly ceived less than three bids, resulting in mineral security. Rules, the Government has been lay-
tion has resulted in 100% import depen- supply shocks from key producing pro- higher than their conventional indus- a re-auction of the block. On the other ing emphasis on investing in circular
dence for minerals like lithium, cobalt, cessing regions, which in turn results in trial uses, requiring specialised know- hand, the lithium block being auctioned Khanij Bidesh India Ltd., a joint supply chains. However, India has had
and nickel. Therefore, the Government elevated price volatility. Consequently, how in mineral processing and refi ning in Katghora, Chhattisgarh is a hard venture of PSUs NALCO, Hindustan limited success in material recycling
of India (GoI) has recently started the countries are increasingly looking at technologies. With China gaining a rock deposit. The ore here belongs to a Copper, and Mineral Exploration Com- of even bulk materials. Therefore, deve-
process of auctioning 38 blocks of criti- ways to increase self-suffi ciency and signifi cant lead in this area, developed broader class of lithium-bearing mine- pany, recently became the fi rst domes- loping the necessary infrastructure for
cal minerals. Moreover, with the risk reduce import dependence. In that con- economies, like the US and the Euro- rals named lepidolite. China is a large tic player to acquire overseas lithium achieving the GoI’s stiff critical mineral
profi le of exploration activities being text, India’s efforts to step up domestic pean Union, are increasingly looking producer of lithium from lepidolite brine assets in Argentina. Apart from recycling targets remains to be seen.
signifi cantly higher for deep-seated/ production of critical minerals remains at rebuilding critical mineral supply
critical minerals over surfi cial or bulk crucial for our energy security. chains nearer to shore. While the GoI Target Your Market More Effectively
minerals, the GoI introduced the auc- has outlined ~30% of the overall alloca-
tion of ‘Exploration Licence’ to enable However, given the preliminary tion to the Production Linked Incentive IndiaChemTrade
a more attractive risk-return framework stage of exploration for most of the do- (PLI) scheme to green energy techno-
for bringing specialised overseas min- mestic blocks being currently auctioned, logies like solar PV, battery, and green Free for subscribers of Chemical Weekly
ing companies. their commercialisation and associated hydrogen, however, such incentives are
benefi ts are unlikely to fully accrue in missing in the area of exploration, min- IndiaChemTrade provides consolidated trade statistics of India. The information provided here is
Surge in demand for critical minerals the current decade ending 2030. There- ing, and processing of critical minerals based on the annual trade data published by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and
The transformation of energy sys- Statistics, Government of India. The database can be searched by: Chemical Name/Harmonised Code
tems from increasing energy density to obtain the consolidated trade (import or export) in that item; or by Country to obtain the trade
to increasing mineral intensity is an (import or export) in all chemicals and related products between India and that country.
irreversible process for meeting India’s
2070 net zero commitments. The
accelerated pace of adoption of green
technologies like electric vehicles, ChemXchange
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and green hydrogen in the post-COVID Open to all – no subscription required
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number of domestic mines to support the
green economy of the future. There- For more information contact: 022-24044471 / 72
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178 Chemical Weekly June 18, 2024 Chemical Weekly June 18, 2024 179

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