Representatives from the U.S. and Western Australia are visiting the country to explore cooperation.
India, the world’s most populous country, is continuously seeking new sources of critical minerals for its goal to reach a net zero economy by 2070. Besides expanding domestic mining efforts, international partnerships are a core component to meet the growing demand for raw materials like lithium or rare earths. To discuss possible cooperation on this and other fields, India is currently hosting representatives from Western Australia and, later this week, from the U.S.
Western Australia’s Deputy Minister Rita Saffioti has already concluded a mission in India’s capital, New Delhi, and is set to continue to Chennai, a port town in the country’s South East, the Economic Times reports (Paywall). Topics of the meetings were, besides critical minerals, establishing direct links between India and Australia’s largest state. Western Australia is home to vast deposits of raw materials, including the Mount Weld mine, one of the largest in the world. Operator Lynas has recently begun production at Australia’s first rare earth processing facility in Kalgoorlie that receives feedstock from Mount Weld.
Likely on a similar note will be U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey R. Pyatt’s visit to Delhi and Hyderabad later this week. On the agenda are topics related to energy security and opportunities and challenges around critical minerals for the global energy transition. Besides meeting government officials, Pyatt will also engage with private sector members to discuss possible collaborations, the Indian Knowledge and News Network (KNN) reports.
Photo: iStock/Oleksii Liskonih
