India has opened confidential diplomatic and technical talks with Brazil, Canada, France and the Netherlands to pursue joint arrangements on critical minerals, according to people familiar with the discussions.
The conversations center on lithium and rare earths and would cover activities spanning exploration, extraction, processing and recycling. Those involved in the talks also say India is seeking access to advanced mineral-processing technologies as it broadens international outreach to secure key raw materials.
Sources who spoke on condition of anonymity described the outreach as part of a broader effort to diversify supply chains. They said India remains heavily reliant on China - which currently dominates global supplies of many minerals and has advanced mining and processing capabilities - and that reality is a driver for expanding ties with several countries.
However, the sources cautioned that mining is a long-lead endeavour: discovery-to-production timelines can be protracted, with exploration alone typically taking five to seven years and sometimes yielding no viable mine. That uncertainty underscores both the strategic intent behind accelerating international cooperation and the practical limits of near-term supply gains.
Delhi seeks to mirror elements of a critical minerals agreement it signed with Germany in January. That deal included provisions on exploration, processing and recycling, and aimed to facilitate the acquisition and development of mineral assets in both countries as well as in third countries, one source said.
"There are requests and we are talking to France, Netherlands and Brazil while the agreement with Canada is under active consideration," the source added, describing the talks as ongoing and confidential.
The Ministry of Mines is reported to be leading the initiative. Officials expect a possible visit by Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney to India in early March, during which agreements covering uranium, energy, minerals and artificial intelligence could be signed, a source close to the discussions said.
When asked for comment, Canada’s Natural Resources Department pointed to a statement from January in which both sides said they had agreed to formalise cooperation on critical minerals in the coming weeks. Other parties to the reported discussions either did not respond to requests for comment or declined to comment: Brazil’s embassy in New Delhi, India’s Ministry of Mines and the foreign ministry did not reply to inquiries; the embassy of the Netherlands provided no comment; the embassy of France declined to comment.
India has been actively seeking critical minerals partnerships elsewhere as well. Formal pacts have already been signed with Argentina, Australia and Japan, while talks are ongoing with Peru and Chile on broader bilateral agreements that include critical minerals cooperation.
This diplomatic push coincides with recent international discussions among finance ministers from the G7 and other major economies, who met in Washington last month to examine ways to reduce dependence on China for rare earths. In 2023, India officially identified more than 20 minerals - including lithium - as critical to its energy transition and to meet growing demand from industry and infrastructure.
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