Amid green energy push, mines secretary says India looks at Africa for critical minerals

As the focus shifts towards the adoption of green energy, India is targeting imports of critical minerals from the resource-rich continent of Africa, suggested Mines Secretary V L Kantha Rao.

"In Africa, we are looking at Zambia, Namibia, Congo, Ghana and Mozambique for critical minerals,” news agency PTI quoted Rao as saying on Friday, March 22. He was speaking to reporters in Johannesburg, where he was on an official visit.

Rare earth elements and other critical minerals, found abundantly in Africa, have drawn widespread attention amid calls issued by multilateral bodies, including the United Nations and its affiliates, to switch to emission-free sources of energy. Reducing the carbon footprint is seen as essential to slow down the pace of global warming.

Critical minerals in demand

According to the US Department of Energy, the following critical minerals are in focus to build a decarbonised energy infrastructure:

• Rare earth elements: They are used in offshore wind turbine generators and electric vehicle motors
• Lithium, cobalt, and high-purity nickel: They are used in energy storage technologies
• Platinum group metals: They are used in catalysts for automotive, chemical, fuel cell, and green hydrogen products
• Gallium and germanium: They are used in developing semiconductors

The growing demand for EV and storage batteries presents a significant opportunity for Africa, said Claver Gatete, United Nations Under-Secretary, while speaking at the sidelines of COP28 Summit in the UAE in December.

“The growth in battery and electric vehicles is forecast to reach $8.8 trillion by the year 2025 and $46 trillion by the year 2050… we cannot miss this opportunity; we must harness and move very fast to capture this market,” African Business had quoted Gatete as saying.