Bad news for China as Modi govt makes this major move, India to reduce its dependence on Beijing for..., now set to deal with...

India could be on the way in taking major steps to reduce its dependence on China for rare earth magnets and critical minerals, as China's export restrictions continue to disrupt global supply chains. According to a CNBC-TV18 report, India is now exploring alternative sources in countries like Australia, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile to secure its needs. Currently, China produces about 60% of the world’s rare earth magnets and processes nearly 90% of them, even when raw materials come from other nations. Rare earth elements (REEs) are essential for industries such as electric vehicles, robotics, defense, and electronics.

To improve domestic supply, India is ramping up efforts through the National Critical Minerals Mission (NCMM). The country is also focusing on recycling minerals through a circular economy model to reduce waste and dependency on imports.

Government officials highlighted the importance of increasing lithium imports from Chile, especially as India targets to make 50% of all new vehicles electric by 2030. Lithium is a key component in EV batteries.

Union Minister of Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy on June 17 chaired a high-level meeting with other ministers and senior officials to discuss how India can strengthen the full supply chain.

While China holds the largest REE deposits at 44 million tonnes, India ranks third globally with around 6.9 million tonnes, just behind Brazil. A report by EY has also noted that India holds over one-third of the world’s sand mineral reserves.

To boost domestic production, the Indian government has mandated all mining companies to test their waste for valuable minerals starting June 2025. This includes materials typically discarded during mining, such as overburden, tailings, and rejects. Even the petroleum sector has been brought under this directive, according to the report.

India has also reclassified several minerals like Barytes, Felspar, Mica, and Quartz as "major minerals" to ensure better reporting and extraction of associated rare earth elements. Earlier, these were treated as minor minerals and used mainly for construction or ceramics, leading to critical minerals being overlooked.