Critical minerals seen as 'future pillar' of Australia-India partnership: Trade official

Kolkata, Oct 30 (PTI) Australian Trade and Investment Commissioner for South Asia Nathan Davis on Thursday said critical minerals and rare earth elements are emerging as the "future pillar" of the rapidly expanding economic partnership between Australia and India.

Davis, who is currently leading a delegation of over 40 Australian mining technology and services companies to the city in a mining conclave and exhibition, provided a detailed overview of the existing partnership, in an interaction with PTI.

He said approximately 50 Australian firms are already operating in India, and a dozen more are exploring with a focus on supplying advanced mining equipment, technology, and sustainability solutions.

He highlighted the strong complementarity in resources, noting Australia's large reserves of lithium and heavy rare earths are a natural fit for India's growing battery and solar manufacturing sectors.

Earlier, a pact between Australia's Critical Minerals Facilitation Office and India's KABIL was signed to jointly fund and develop critical minerals projects in that country.

KABIL is a joint venture between the state-owned National Aluminium Company, Hindustan Copper and Mineral Exploration and Consultancy.

Davis said negotiations for the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) are ongoing, though he did not provide a specific timeline for its conclusion.

Currently, India and Australia have an interim trade deal, the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, which was signed on April 2, 2022. PTI BSM MNB