India and Australia sign MoU for critical minerals

After meeting with their Indian counterparts, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines, Pralhad Joshi and Resources and Northern Australia Minister, Madeleine King, India and Australia on Monday stepped up their cooperation on the development of critical minerals projects and supply chains.

In a three-year, $5.8 million commitment, King announced that Australia would join the India-Australia Critical Minerals Investment Partnership. King stated that Australia and India were natural partners on critical minerals and that both nations shared a commitment to reducing emissions and promoting the use of renewable energy after his discussions with Joshi.

King said that Australia is a trusted supplier of resources and energy to India, and they build on the success of those established supply chains as Australia’s critical minerals sector grows.

Joshi said that they have recently signed an MoU between Khanij Bidesh India Ltd, and the Critical Minerals Facilitation Office (CMFO), Australia, which aims to ensure reliable supplies of Critical and Strategic Minerals to India.

The MoU involves cooperative due diligence on Australian mining assets for lithium and cobalt. The due diligence procedure would be jointly funded by CMFO and the Indian JV KABIL with an initial sum total of US $6 million. As outlined in the MoU, investment options will be looked at after the due diligence is finished and relevant projects have been identified.