India, US may invest in Africa's critical minerals
According to an analysis by the International Energy Agency, China has a dominant 70% market share in the refining of over a dozen key critical minerals such as gallium, graphite, lithium and nickel. Critical minerals are used in the making of everything from solar panels and lithium ion batteries to medical imaging and wind turbines.
America's Department of State and the Development Finance Cooperation initiated talks with key Indian companies and government ministries to consider interest in taking advantage of India's extant business networks in East Africa for critical minerals projects. The talks began during the tenure of the Biden Administration, and the emphasis continues .
'We are working closely with India to strengthen bilateral cooperation on critical minerals, an essential priority for both our countries' economic security. Through COMPACT (Catalyzing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce & Technology) and TRUST (Transforming the Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology), we are working together to strengthen supply chains to ensure access to critical minerals and support industry innovation,' said a State Department spokesperson in response to a query from HT.
'At the recent Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the Quad partners also announced the launch of the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative, which will strengthen economic security and collective resilience in the face of economic coercion, price manipulation, and supply chain disruptions in this sector,' the spokesperson stated before adding that the State Department has no immediate information to share on joint US-India investments in Africa.
In January 2025, India established the ₹16,300 crore National Critical Minerals Mission to boost domestic production of these minerals and reduce dependence on foreign imports. According to the ministry of heavy industries, the Geological Survey of India undertook 368 exploration projects focused on critical and strategic minerals in 2024-25.
India has also sought international partners for the creation of new critical minerals supply chains. In 2023, India joined the Minerals Security Partnership , which is led by the United States and includes the European Union, Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom.
'MSP partner governments engage across a wide range of agencies and departments, including those responsible for foreign affairs, economy, energy, trade, mining, industry, development finance, and export finance. MSP partners established the Finance Network to bring together the development finance institutions (DFIs) and export credit agencies (ECAs) of the MSP partner governments to concretely focus on project finance,' according to the US State Department.
Despite these efforts, the International Energy Agency estimates that efforts to diversify supply chains will make slow progress. For example, IEA predicts that critical minerals refining supply chains will only see marginal diversification by 2035 with China remaining the dominant player.
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