India Pursues Critical Minerals Deals with Brazil, Canada, France, Netherlands, Reuters Reports

India is pursuing agreements with Brazil, Canada, France and the Netherlands to jointly explore, extract, process and recycle critical minerals, according to sources familiar with the discussions, as reported by Reuters.

The South Asian nation is focusing on securing access to lithium and rare earths, along with mineral-processing technologies, the sources told Reuters. The discussions remain confidential, and the sources spoke on condition of anonymity.

India's push to diversify its critical minerals supply chain comes as the country seeks to reduce dependence on China, which dominates global supplies and possesses advanced mining and processing capabilities. Mining experts cited by Reuters emphasised this need as India accelerates its energy transition to reduce emissions.

The Ministry of Mines is leading the initiative, according to the sources. India aims to replicate key elements of a critical minerals agreement signed with Germany in January, which encompasses exploration, processing, recycling and mineral asset development in both countries and third nations.

"There are requests and we are talking to France, Netherlands and Brazil while the agreement with Canada is under active consideration," one source told Reuters.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to visit India in early March to sign agreements covering uranium, energy, minerals and artificial intelligence, Reuters reported.

When contacted by Reuters for comment, Canada's Natural Resources Department referenced a January statement indicating both nations had agreed to formalise critical minerals cooperation in coming weeks. Brazil's embassy in New Delhi, India's Ministry of Mines and foreign ministry did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The Netherlands embassy declined to comment, while France's embassy also declined.

The outreach represents an expansion of India's existing critical minerals partnerships. The country has already signed agreements with Argentina, Australia and Japan, and is negotiating broader bilateral pacts with Peru and Chile that include critical minerals provisions, according to Reuters.

India's international engagement on critical minerals aligns with broader efforts by major economies to reduce dependence on Chinese rare earth supplies. Finance ministers from G7 nations and other major economies met in Washington last month to discuss strategies for cutting reliance on China, Reuters noted.

However, mining experts cautioned that developing new mineral sources requires significant time. From discovery to production, the process can span years, with exploration alone taking five to seven years and often failing to yield viable mining operations.

In 2023, India designated more than 20 minerals, including lithium, as "critical" for its energy transition and to meet growing demand from industry and infrastructure sectors.