India is set to allocate funding to research institutes for providing technical assistance to miners in a bid to develop its critical minerals industry and reduce the country’s heavy reliance on imports of lithium and rare earth elements essential for energy transition technologies.
A government source and a letter reviewed by Reuters reveal that the initiative is part of India’s broader effort to establish a domestic critical minerals sector. Despite awarding development rights to a lithium block in Chhattisgarh state in June, previous attempts to auction lithium blocks in Jammu and Kashmir were unsuccessful due to low mineral concentration and high extraction costs.
The government plans to invest nearly $50 million to foster collaborations between research institutes and companies aimed at advancing extraction technology and improving beneficiation methods—the process of refining mineral ores before they are converted into metals.
In a letter dated July 11, the Ministry of Mines instructed the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) to assist miners with specialized extraction techniques for critical minerals. The letter emphasized the need for case-specific extraction methods due to the association of critical minerals with other minerals and metals.
Similar communications were sent to five other research institutes. The government will invite joint proposals from these institutes and companies, with approved projects potentially receiving up to 75% of the total funding.
The Ministry of Mines and NIIST have yet to respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
