Context:
India joins US-led Mineral Security Partnership (MSP) recently.
- Launch – 2022.
- It involves a collaboration of countries led by the US, which includes Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, the UK, the European Commission, Italy, and now India.
- It is also known as the critical minerals alliance.
- Aim – Countries aim to ensure that critical minerals are produced, processed, and recycled in a manner that assists them in securing a stable supply of these minerals for their economies.
- The focus is primarily on the supply chains of critical minerals such as cobalt, nickel, lithium and the 17 “rare earth” minerals.
- Objectives
- Strengthened information sharing between partner countries
- Increased investment in secure critical minerals supply chains
- Develop recycling technologies
Critical Minerals
- Critical minerals – A critical mineral is an essential metallic or non-metallic element that plays a vital role in the functioning of our modern technologies, economies, or national security. There exists a risk of supply chain disruptions for these minerals.
- Many critical minerals, including rare earth minerals and metals such as lithium, gallium, tellurium, and indium, are central to high-tech sectors.
- The major critical minerals – Semiconductors, high-end electronics manufacturing, fighter jets, drones, and radio sets use graphite, lithium, and cobalt in their production.
- Rare earth minerals – Rare earth minerals are a set of 17 metallic elements, which includes scandium, yttrium, and the 15 lanthanides.
- Examples – Lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, praseodymium and samarium, dysprosium, terbium, europium.
- A wide range of applications uses it, including cellular telephones, flat-screen monitors and televisions, and electric vehicles.
- Top producers – According to the International Energy Agency, the major producers of critical minerals are China, Congo, Chile, Indonesia, South Africa, and Australia.
- China has global dominance in terms of processing.
India and Australia have made the decision to strengthen their partnership in the field of projects and supply chains for critical minerals through the Australia-India Critical Minerals Investment Partnership.
Read also:- India – Australia Critical Minerals Investment Partnership
Minerals Security Partnership
