Critical Minerals, 30 Critical Minerals of India, India’s Import Dependency

30 Critical Minerals

• Context (IE): The Centre has unveiled the first report of the country on “Critical Minerals for India” and has identified 30 critical minerals.
• The identification of the critical minerals is a part of multiple strategic value chains, which include:
  • clean technologies initiatives (such as zero-emission vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels);
  • information and communication technologies (including semiconductors);
  • advanced manufacturing inputs and materials (such as defence applications, permanent magnets, and ceramics).

Critical Minerals

• These are minerals that are essential for economic development and national security.
• The lack of availability of these minerals or the concentration of extraction or processing in a few geographical locations can lead to “supply chain vulnerabilities and even disruption of supplies”.
• A mineral is critical when the risk of supply shortage and associated economic impact is (relatively) higher than other raw materials.

Critical Minerals of India

• The minerals were identified based on a report by an Expert Committee of the Ministry of Mines.
• These 30 critical minerals are Antimony, Beryllium, Bismuth, Cobalt, Copper, Gallium, Germanium, Graphite, Hafnium, Indium, Lithium, Molybdenum, Niobium, Nickel, PGE, Phosphorous, Potash, REE, Rhenium, Silicon, Strontium, Tantalum, Tellurium, Tin, Titanium, Tungsten, Vanadium, Zirconium, Selenium and Cadmium.
• The committee also recommended the creation of the Centre of Excellence for Critical Minerals (CECM) under the Ministry of Mines.
• This proposed Centre will periodically update the list of critical minerals for India.

India’s import dependency

Critical Mineral	Percentage dependency	Major Import Sources (2020)
Lithium	100%	Chile, Russia, China, Ireland, Belgium
Cobalt	100%	China, Belgium, Netherlands, US, Japan
Nickel	100%	Sweden, China, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines
Vanadium	100%	Kuwait, Germany, South Africa, Brazil, Thailand
Niobium	100%	Brazil, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Indonesia
Germanium	100%	China, South Africa, Australia, France, US
Rhenium	100%	Russia, UK, Netherlands, South Africa, China
Beryllium	100%	Russia, UK, Netherlands, South Africa, China
Tantalum	100%	Australia, Indonesia, South Africa, Malaysia, US
Strontium	100%	China, the US, Russia, Estonia, Slovenia
Zirconium(zircon)	80%	Australia, Indonesia, South Africa, Malaysia, US
Graphite(natural)	60%	China, Madagascar, Mozambique, Vietnam, Tanzania
Manganese	50%	South Africa, Gabon, Australia, Brazil, China
Chromium	2.5%	South Africa, Mozambique, Oman, Switzerland, Turkey
Silicon	<1%	China, Malaysia, Norway, Bhutan, Netherlands