India’s Union Minister for Coal and Mines, G. Kishan Reddy, has emphasised the importance of recycling for attaining self-reliance in the critical minerals sector. He urged the creation of a strategic approach for sustainable resource management during his recent visit to LOHUM Research and Development Centre and Lithium Cobalt refineries in Greater Noida, Delhi.

He met the research team of LOHUM facilities on Wednesday, April 2, and discussed the development of sustainable policies to recycle and extract key minerals.  He also reviewed the advanced recycling technologies designed to recover critical minerals from used batteries and electronic waste. Reddy praised LOHUM’s work in extracting lithium from recycled materials. Lithium is a versatile mineral added to aluminium to produce aluminum-lithium (Al-Li) alloys, the application of which goes in aerospace and defence to reduce structural weight by 15-20 per cent.

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Reddy added that sustainability policies will enable India to reduce reliance on imported critical minerals and face the competition in the global market.

He remarked on prioritising recycling as a national strategy, as India has limited natural reserves of such critical minerals. He also stated that the Government of India will launch the National Critical Minerals Mission (NCMM). This mission has an outlay of Rs 32,000 crore to aim at developing a critical mineral ecosystem. This ecosystem will cover exploration, mining, processing, and recycling critical minerals across the country.

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The NCMM will also bring international partnerships, domestic exploration initiatives, and R&D support. He also highlighted a key concept of urban mining of recyclable waste. Electronics, electrical and automotive waste contain lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Hence, an efficient collection and processing will recover these critical minerals and reduce environmental harm. Reddy assured all kinds of support would be lent by the India Government to industries, start-ups, and research institutions for working in the critical minerals space.

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