The transfer comes as New Delhi seeks different provides of the strategic minerals managed by China
India and Myanmar are looking for to spice up cooperation in uncommon earths as New Delhi expands efforts to diversify provides of the strategic minerals and reduce dependence on China, which dominates their international provide.
Cooperation within the mining sector has gained vital momentum during the last two years, India’s envoy to Myanmar, Abhay Thakur, stated on the opening Session of the India-Myanmar Forum on Mining and Minerals Cooperation this week.
These minerals are wanted to make key elements for renewable power era, electrical autos, power storage programs, superior electronics, telecommunications, and different industries. About half of the world’s provide of heavy uncommon earths is extracted from mines in Myanmar’s Kachin state. They are shipped to China for processing into magnets.
“India and Myanmar are well-positioned to work together in this emerging landscape,” the envoysaid. Two mining sector delegations on uncommon earths and demanding minerals from India visited Myanmar in December 2024 after which once more this previous February.
State-backed miner IREL and personal agency Midwest Advanced Materials are amongst these reportedly concerned in discussions to discover the gathering and transportation of samples from mines in Myanmar.
As a part of a method to diversify provides and reduce dependence on essential minerals from China, which is the world’s largest producer of uncommon earths, New Delhi not too long ago soughtrare-earth samplesfrom a Siberian deposit owned by Russian firm Rosneft.
IREL, which spearheads the South Asian nation’s outreach to safe rare-earth provides, goals to review the mineral composition of a deposit in Tomtor, Siberia, acquired by Rosneft in 2025. It can be in talks with Japanese and South Korean corporations to fabricate rare-earth magnets commercially.
India sits on the world’s third-largest rare-earth reserves of practically 7.23 million metric tons, however doesn’t produce rare-earth magnets domestically. Its consumption is predicted to double by 2030.
In November 2025, New Delhi allotted $802 million for a program to fabricate rare-earth everlasting magnets. India has additionally joined the US-ledPax Silica alliance, which goals to safe a provide chain for synthetic intelligence, chips, and demanding minerals.
India additionally introduced specialised industrial zones referred to as rare-earth corridors within the states of Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu for mining, processing, analysis, and manufacturing of uncommon earth everlasting magnets.
(RT.com)