India eyes multiple mineral pacts with about a dozen countries in Africa

India is planning to soon sign new and updated mineral pacts with about a dozen countries in Africa.

The Ministry of Mines is in discussions with Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Business Standard has learnt.

Negotiations are ongoing with around a dozen countries, and more will be added to the list soon.

"We aim to secure India’s mineral supply chain, and African countries have all the minerals we require,” said a senior government official.

“The aim of these mineral agreements will encompass not only meeting the demand for critical minerals, but also addressing all of India’s mineral requirements,” the official added.

Cobalt, nickel, graphite, diamonds, platinum, and uranium are among the major minerals found in Africa.

Currently, India has memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with six African countries — Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

So far, India has courted several African nations under multilateral initiatives, such as the International Solar Alliance and Global Biofuel Alliance.

Senior government officials stated that alongside central agencies, private players will also be invited to take part in exploration, mining, and mineral trading within these countries.

“Beyond public sector undertakings (PSUs), private players will also be encouraged to engage with these countries.

"Mining firms such as Vedanta and Jindal already have a presence there. We aim to leverage their expertise and assist in expanding their operations in Africa,” another official said.

According to Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), there are many Indian private players like Vedanta Group, Jindal Steel & Power, Samta Mines & Minerals, Ashapura Group of Companies, among others.

Spectre of China

A successful trade deal with Africa will assist India in meeting its mineral requirements.

But industry executives believe that India’s pursuit of minerals will face challenges due to China’s significant presence in the continent.

“The Centre may face challenges in navigating any trade alliances with Africa particularly in view of the prevailing local socio-political issues.

"China’s dominance in African countries may also impede our progress.

"We need to address these issues at the government to government (G2G)-level before entering into such alliances", said B K Bhatia, additional secretary general, FIMI.

China has built import supply chains for multiple minerals from Africa over the past 10 years through the Belt and Road Initiative.

According to the US Congress' Executive Commission on China, 80 per cent of DRC's cobalt output is owned by Chinese companies.

They are refined in China, and then sold to battery makers around the world.

The DRC has the largest cobalt reserves in the world, at around six million metric tonnes, as of 2023.

Meanwhile, Chinese-funded new lithium plants in Zimbabwe are set to begin operations in 2024.

Others in the pipeline are Mali, Ethiopia, the DRC and Namibia, according to S&P Global.

China is currently pivoting away from Australia, from where the country gets more than 60 per cent of its lithium requirements.

Chinese company Tshingshan, the world’s largest supplier of nickel, has announced it is constructing a $1 billion iron ore mine and carbon steel plant in Zimbabwe with a capacity of 1.2 million tonnes.

To meet its mineral demand, India has accelerated the pace of auctioning mines, with a particular emphasis on critical minerals.

The Centre released its first critical minerals’ list in June 2023 and announced the first round of critical minerals auctions in November of the previous year.

Currently, 38 critical mineral blocks are up for auction. Since 2015, a total of 354 mineral blocks have been successfully auctioned, according to the Ministry of Mines data.

Additionally, there are 201 ongoing notice inviting tenders, the ministry data shows.