India to offer incentives for critical minerals extraction, government source says

India is set to provide funding to research institutes for technical assistance to miners as part of its efforts to develop a critical minerals industry. This initiative aims to reduce the country's heavy reliance on lithium imports and rare earth minerals, crucial for energy transition technologies. Despite these efforts, India has struggled to establish a critical minerals mining sector. For instance, while development rights for a lithium block in Chhattisgarh were awarded in June, an auction in Jammu and Kashmir auction failed due to low mineral concentration and high extraction costs.

The government plans to allocate nearly US$ 50 million to support collaborations between research institutes and companies to advance extraction technology and beneficiation methods, which involve improving mineral ores before they are processed into metals. According to a government source, the Ministry of Mines has requested the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) to assist miners with extraction techniques for critical minerals. Similar requests were sent to 5 other research institutes. Joint proposals from institutes and companies will be invited, with approved projects receiving up to 75% of the total funding. The Ministry of Mines and NIIST has not yet responded to requests for comment from Reuters.

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