Quick Revision
- China dominates refining: over 90% of refined gallium, graphite and manganese, and about 85% of rare-earth refining (IEA, 2025).
- India holds about 6.9 million tonnes of rare-earth oxide reserves, mostly in monazite beach sands; IREL (DAE) handles them.
- REPM scheme (26 Nov 2025): ₹7,280 crore outlay for 6,000 MTPA sintered rare-earth magnet capacity.
- MMDR Amendment Act 2023: Part D lists 24 critical minerals, Centre auctions them, new Exploration Licence introduced.
- India is 100% import-dependent for ten minerals incl. lithium, cobalt, nickel; Uttarakhand link: Kathyur (Dehradun) rock-phosphate block (2026).
Summary
Critical minerals such as copper, rare earths, lithium, graphite and tungsten power EVs, wind and solar energy, chips, defence and nuclear programmes. The real choke point in the supply chain is processing and refining, not mining.
Global supply chains
China leads at almost every stage of the rare-earth chain, from separation to magnet making. Its April 2025 licensing for seven rare earths remains in force. Its October 2025 package was suspended for one year, not cancelled. Other powers are responding with the US Project Vault stockpile (about US$12 bn), Pax Silica (India signed on 20 Feb 2026), the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative (July 2025) and the EU Critical Raw Materials Act (2024).
India's
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