PM Modi warns China over rare earth minerals. What are RREs, why are they important? India in crisis as...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi rang the alarm bell when he demanded at the BRICS Summit 2025 that the supply chains of critical minerals should remain secure, reliable, and free from geopolitical coercion. Though he did not name China or any other country while speaking in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, his message was loud and clear. Speaking at the 17th summit of the 10-member bloc, he said, "It’s important to ensure that no country uses these resources for its selfish gain or as a weapon against others." PM Modi made an unambiguous statement, which could be interpreted as a veiled reference to China, currently the world's largest producer of rare earths, controlling over 90% of the world’s rare earth processing capacity.

What are Rare Earth Minerals?

The rare earth minerals or critical minerals are a group of 17 nearly indistinguishable lustrous silvery-white soft heavy metals. These minerals are not "rare" in the true sense because they are not scarce; however, it took a long time to isolate these elements. They are found in plenty in the Earth's crust. But they are so thinly spread and so full of impurities that it requires processing a huge quantity of raw ore at great expense to obtain the mineral at usable purity. These rare-earth elements are: lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, scandium, yttrium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, Europium, gadolinium, and terbium. They occur in nature in combination with phosphate (monazite), carbonate-fluoride (bastnäsite), and oxygen anions.

Why are they critical?

The rare earth elements are called critical because they play significant roles in modern-day sectors like electronics, automotive, satellites, radars, missiles, aeroplanes, glass and ceramics, lasers, fiber optic cables, and optical amplifiers. 

Long March for RRE: From Mao to Jinping

China has become the focal point of any discussion on the rare earth minerals because it dominates the world in this matter. Beijing controls the vast majority of global rare earth processing and its units are spread from the mines of Baotou and Jiangxi to the global supply chains of electric vehicles, smartphones, and military hardware. Starting from Chairman Mao Zedong to Deng Xiaoping to Xi Jinping, China has developed and controlled the entire ecosystem of the rare earth minerals through decades of state planning, innovation, and industrial strategy. 

The dominance became brazenly apparent when Beijing banned its exports in retaliation for the impractical tariff rates imposed by the US. China lifted the ban after the two sides signed an agreement on June 27. 

PM Modi's concerns can be understood by the fact that the Indian automobile industry is facing a severe crisis, and it is staring at an imminent and inevitable slowdown due to a shortage of rare earth magnets. These magnets are crucial components for electric and hybrid vehicles and some conventional vehicle systems.