India revives talks with Zambia to invest in critical minerals
Officials from the Ministry of Mines held preliminary discussions with Zambian counterparts on August 26 to explore fresh investment opportunities in copper and other critical minerals
The talks did not take up a previously stalled project involving a 9,000 sq km area awarded to India last year, over which Lusaka had not given assurances on mining rights
Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL), India's overseas critical minerals vehicle, is separately evaluating opportunities in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Russia and Indonesia, and is in talks on a project in Malawi
The renewed engagement reflects India's push to secure raw material supply chains as domestic demand for critical minerals rises with the clean-energy and electronics transition
Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL)
KABIL is India's dedicated public sector vehicle for securing critical and strategic mineral assets overseas. It was incorporated on August 8, 2019, under the Companies Act, 2013, as a joint venture of three CPSEs — National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO), Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL), and Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Ltd (MECL) — under the administrative control of the Ministry of Mines.
Key Details
- Mandate: identify, explore, acquire, develop, mine and process strategic minerals abroad for supply primarily to India, reducing import dependence
- Equity structure: NALCO, HCL and MECL each hold roughly equal shares
- KABIL had earlier signed agreements for lithium exploration in Argentina and is scouting projects across Africa, Latin America and Central Asia
- The current Zambia engagement falls within this broader KABIL-led resource-diplomacy mandate, alongside the ongoing Malawi talks
The Zambia talks are part of the same overseas resource-acquisition push that created KABIL in 2019 — diversifying supply sources for copper and other minerals critical to India's manufacturing and energy transition.
Critical Minerals Framework: MMDR Amendment Act, 2023 and the 30-Mineral List
A Ministry of Mines committee (constituted November 2022) identified 30 minerals as "critical" for India based on economic importance and supply-risk criteria; of these, 24 were inserted into Part D of the First Schedule of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 via the MMDR Amendment Act, 2023 (in force from August 17, 2023). Copper is among the minerals central to India's import-dependence concerns, alongside lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements.
Key Details
- Section 11D of the amended MMDR Act empowers the Central Government to exclusively auction mining leases and composite licences for Part D critical minerals; the State Government grants the lease to the successful bidder
- The first tranche of critical mineral block auctions was launched in November 2023 (lithium, REE, nickel, PGE, potash, glauconite, phosphorite, graphite, molybdenum, etc.)
- The National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), approved by the Union Cabinet with an outlay of ₹34,300 crore over seven years, tasks the Geological Survey of India with 1,200 exploration projects between 2024-25 and 2030-31
- Domestic auctions (MMDR Act) and overseas acquisition (KABIL) are the twin pillars of India's critical minerals strategy — the Zambia talks belong to the second pillar
Because India has limited domestic copper and cobalt reserves, overseas acquisition through KABIL-led talks with resource-rich countries like Zambia complements the domestic auction regime created by the 2023 MMDR amendment.
Geopolitics of African Critical Minerals: The Lobito Corridor
Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo hold some of the world's largest copper and cobalt reserves, concentrated in the "Copperbelt" region. Global powers are competing for access and transport infrastructure, most visibly through the Lobito Corridor — a rail line connecting the Zambia-DRC copper belt to the Angolan Atlantic port of Lobito.
Key Details
- Zambia produced roughly 797,000 tonnes of copper in 2022, among Africa's highest
- The Lobito Corridor (about 1,289 km of rail) is backed by a Western consortium (Trafigura, Mota-Engil, Vecturis) under a 30-year concession, with funding from the Africa Finance Corporation, African Development Bank and Italy
- China maintains dominant ownership in DRC copper mining (roughly 80% of DRC's copper mines are Chinese-owned) and has committed further large-scale investment in Zambia's copper sector
- India's entry via bilateral government-to-government talks and KABIL is a comparatively late but strategic move to diversify away from China-dependent mineral supply chains
India's revived talks with Zambia should be read against this larger contest among major economies for African critical mineral access — a theme relevant for GS2 (India's foreign policy/resource diplomacy) and GS3 (import dependence on critical minerals).
- KABIL incorporated: August 8, 2019; JV of NALCO, HCL and MECL under Ministry of Mines
- 30 minerals identified as "critical" for India (Ministry of Mines committee, November 2022); 24 listed in Part D, Schedule I of the MMDR Act, 1957
- MMDR Amendment Act, 2023 in force from August 17, 2023; Section 11D gives Centre exclusive auction power for Part D minerals
- National Critical Mineral Mission outlay: ₹34,300 crore over seven years (2024-25 to 2030-31); GSI mandated 1,200 exploration projects
- Stalled India-Zambia project area: 9,000 sq km, awarded to India in 2025, talks stalled since April 2026 over mining-rights assurances
- Zambia copper production: approximately 797,000 tonnes (2022)
- KABIL is separately pursuing critical mineral opportunities in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Russia, Indonesia and Malawi