India in talks with Chile, Peru to source critical minerals

India is holding talks with Chile and Peru to source critical minerals under ongoing free trade pact negotiations, a trade ministry source said on Tuesday.

Reliant on imports to meet demand, India already planned to include a chapter on copper in the trade talks with the two South American countries to secure a fixed quantity of copper concentrate, according to a government document earlier this month.

India meets more than 90% of its copper concentrate needs through imports, and its dependency is expected to rise to 97% by 2047, the document said.

India is also working with trading partners to reduce dependence on China for critical minerals, the trade ministry source said.

China, which produces around 90% of the world’s rare earth magnets, in April put restrictions on their export as part of its response to US tariffs.

India, which has the world’s third-largest car market and the fifth-largest reserves of rare earths, is working on a new program to incentivize local magnet production, Reuters reported last month.

(By Manoj Kumar, Nikunj Ohri and Neha Arora; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)