India Pursues Critical Minerals Agreements with Brazil, Canada, and Europe
India is actively negotiating agreements with Brazil, Canada, France, and the Netherlands for joint exploration, extraction, processing, and recycling of critical minerals, with a focus on lithium and rare earth elements.
The Ministry of Mines is spearheading negotiations mirroring a critical minerals agreement signed with Germany in January 2026, covering exploration, processing, recycling, and acquisition of mineral assets.
India has already signed critical minerals agreements with Argentina, Australia, and Japan, and is in discussions with Peru and Chile.
Canada's Prime Minister is expected to visit India in early March to finalize deals covering uranium, energy, minerals, and artificial intelligence.
The strategy aims to reduce India's heavy dependence on China, which dominates global critical mineral supply chains and possesses advanced mining and processing technology.
National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM)
The National Critical Mineral Mission was announced in the Union Budget 2024-25 (July 23, 2024) and formally approved by the Union Cabinet on January 29, 2025, with an outlay of Rs. 34,300 crore over seven years (FY2024-25 to FY2030-31). The mission encompasses all stages of the critical mineral value chain — exploration, mining, beneficiation, processing, and recovery from end-of-life products.
The bilateral agreements with Brazil, Canada, France, and the Netherlands are part of the NCMM's mandate to acquire critical mineral assets abroad, complementing domestic exploration through international partnerships.
KABIL: Khanij Bidesh India Limited
KABIL is a joint venture company under the Ministry of Mines, formed in August 2019 by three central public sector enterprises — National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL), and Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Limited (MECL). Its mandate is to identify, acquire, develop, and process strategic mineral assets abroad.
As India negotiates new bilateral agreements with Brazil, Canada, France, and the Netherlands, KABIL is expected to play a central role in identifying and acquiring mineral assets, similar to its ongoing operations in Argentina.
Critical Minerals: Strategic Significance and Global Supply Chains
Critical minerals are mineral resources that are essential for economic and national security, particularly for clean energy technologies, defence applications, and advanced manufacturing, and whose supply chains are vulnerable to disruption. India's list of 30 critical minerals was notified by the Ministry of Mines in 2023, based on recommendations of a committee chaired by Dr. V.K. Saraswat (NITI Aayog).
India's pursuit of overseas mineral agreements reflects the structural vulnerability of depending on China for critical mineral processing, with bilateral partnerships offering a supply chain diversification strategy essential for India's energy transition and defence modernization goals.
Rare Earth Elements: Properties and Applications
Rare earth elements (REEs) are a group of 17 metallic elements: 15 lanthanides (lanthanum to lutetium) plus scandium and yttrium. Despite their name, REEs are relatively abundant in the Earth's crust but rarely found in concentrated, commercially exploitable deposits.
The focus on rare earth elements in bilateral negotiations with Brazil, Canada, and Europe underscores India's need to both secure overseas supply and develop domestic processing capacity through initiatives like the Rare Earth Corridors and REPM Manufacturing Scheme.
- National Critical Mineral Mission outlay: Rs. 34,300 crore over 7 years (FY2024-25 to FY2030-31)
- India's rare earth reserves: 8.52 million tonnes (6th globally)
- KABIL's Argentina lithium blocks: approximately 15,703 hectares in Catamarca province
- China's dominance: approximately 60% lithium refining, 70% cobalt refining, 90% rare earth processing
- India's critical minerals list: 30 minerals notified in 2023
- MMDR Act amendment: 2023, allowing private sector in critical mineral exploration
- Rare Earth Permanent Magnet (REPM) Scheme: Rs. 7,280 crore (approved November 2025)
- Bilateral agreements signed: Argentina, Australia, Japan, Germany; in talks: Brazil, Canada, France, Netherlands, Peru, Chile
- Exploration timeline: typically 5-7 years for mineral exploration alone