India and Rosneft to Explore Siberia's Rare Earth Deposits for Critical Minerals

India is in talks with Russian oil producer Rosneft to study the mineral composition of its rare earth deposits in Siberia, according to an official, as part of efforts to secure supplies of critical minerals.

Rare earth elements are essential for producing permanent magnets, which are essential for electric vehicle motors and find application across new-age electronics. India relies on imports of these elements to meet its domestic needs, as it does not have commercial-scale facilities for refining and separating.

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The country faced an acute shortage of rare earth magnets after China, its largest supplier, clamped down on exports. During the annual India-Russia summit in December, the two countries had decided to launch collaboration in the rare earth and critical minerals sector.

Russia holds some of the world's largest reserves of rare earth elements, primarily in Siberia and the Murmansk region. Rosneft had acquired the deposit in Siberia's Tomtor region last year. In May, JSC Giredmet, a unit of Rosatom's scientific division, signed a memorandum of understanding with India's Nexon Geochem for research and development of technologies for processing raw materials of rare earths.

Giredmet also signed a letter of intent with India's Technology Innovation in Exploration & Mining Foundation (TEXMiN), part of the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines). The agreement provides for joint research and development of technologies for producing neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) rare-earth permanent magnets, including the full metallurgical cycle and pilot validation of Giredmet technologies.