India would play a key role in the world's supply chain of rare earths if it develops processing capabilities and industrial infrastructure, according to Adnan Amin, Chairman of the World Energy Council.
"The critical minerals issue is very, very topical right now. And I think there are a few fundamentals we need to understand about this. The first point is that when we discuss rare earth minerals, they are really not that rare. They're available in many places, including in India. The real issue is how do you develop the capacity to refine and process these rare earth minerals into usable elements for energy transition," Amin said on Friday.
He underlined that India should focus on setting up processing units to refine rare earths to emerge as a powerhouse in this critical area because he stressed that rare earth minerals were not that "rare".
"India has the possibility, but again, it's the same as scaling up renewables, which is developing the industrial capacity for processing and refining that is going to be at the crux of this," Amin said.
Notably, the US inked a pact with long-time ally Japan for the procurement of rare metals just days ago, and Amin believes that more and more countries would be keen to diversify their supply chains associated with these critical minerals in the near future.
"This (rare earths) is going to be an area where many are going to be looking at how to diversify the supply chains. And I think within that, India has an important role to play," Amin added.
It is worth highlighting that China has a near monopoly on rare earths, accounting for over 70 percent of their production.
Earlier this year, China paused its exports of rare earths to the US, resulting in prolonged tensions between the world's two largest economies.
Subsequently, following President Donald Trump's meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, late last month, the rare earths roadblock was lifted.