India stepping up critical mineral acquisition plans with dozen African countries

India is stepping up its critical mineral acquisition plans in Africa, with New Delhi reportedly eying to sign new and updated mineral pacts with about a dozen African countries, in bid to challenge China’s dominant position on the continent.

India’s Ministry of Mines has said it was in discussions with Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe to secure mining collaborations and access agreements. “Negotiations are ongoing with around a dozen countries, and more will be added to the list soon,” said a senior government official. “We aim to secure India’s mineral supply chain, and African countries have all the minerals we require.” These mineral agreements aim not only to meet India’s demand for critical minerals, including cobalt, nickel, graphite, diamonds, platinum, and uranium, but also to address all of its mineral requirements.

While India currently has MoUs with six African countries — Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe — New Delhi has also courted several other African nations under multilateral initiatives, such as the International Solar Alliance and Global Biofuel Alliance. Through these, India aims to establish a stronger presence in the African mining sector to counterbalance the dominant position of China, which is, for example, estimated to control over 5% of cobalt processing facilities in the DRC. In Zimbabwe, Chinese-funded new lithium plants are set to begin operations in 2024, while others in the pipeline are Mali, Ethiopia, and Namibia, according to S&P Global.