The technologies of the future, in EVs, batteries, solar power, wind energy etc, are highly mineral intensive. They need large quantities of lithium, cobalt, rare earths, copper and other minerals. India is 100% import dependent for some of these minerals and more than 50% dependent for others. This is a big risk.
China has already taken a big lead and produces a big share of these minerals and metals. Other countries like Saudi Arabia, not known for minerals other than oil, have come out with very liberal policies to attract investment and become a major player in these new age minerals. India has a superior geology to both China and Saudi Arabia. But these countries have more liberal exploration policies.
The key is to enable young entrepreneurs to undertake exploration and allow them to sell their discoveries to large mining companies, who will develop these discoveries to production. This is similar to what happens in the startup technology world where they sell their discoveries to large companies to make them scale up. Similar is the global practice in mining.
This way we can fully explore our geology and stay ahead of other countries.
India is a land of young entrepreneurs, and they need wings to fly. Liberalizing and supporting exploration could be a game changer for startups which will help India to be amongst top three economies in the world. Time is of essence.
