(Staff posts from the ECONOMIC TIMES INDIA on 10 September 2025.)
India explores rare-earth deal with Myanmar rebels
after Chinese curbs: India is working to obtain rare-earth samples from Myanmar
with the assistance of a powerful rebel group, according to four people
familiar with the matter, as it seeks alternative supplies of a strategic
resource tightly controlled by China.
India's Ministry of Mines asked state-owned and
private firms to explore collecting and transporting samples from mines in
northeastern Myanmar that are under the control of the Kachin Independence
Army, three of the people said.
State-owned miner IREL (India Rare Earth Limited) and private firm Midwest Advanced Materials - which received government funding last year for the commercial manufacturing of rare-earth magnets - were among those involved in the discussions, the sources said.
New Delhi hopes to test the samples in domestic
labs to ensure they contain sufficient levels of heavy rare earths that can be
processed into magnets used in electronic vehicles and other advanced
equipment, according to the people.
The ministry made the request - signalling a rare
instance of Delhi engaging with a non-state actor - at an online meeting in
July, according to two of the people. The meeting was attended by
representatives from IREL, Midwest and at least one other company, one of the
sources said.
The KIA has started gathering samples for India's
analysis, said the fourth person, who is an official with the armed group. The
rebels have also agreed to assess if bulk exports to India are possible,
according to the KIA official, who like the other sources spoke on condition of
anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Details of India's engagement with the KIA are
reported by Reuters for the first time. India's foreign and mining ministries
did not respond to Reuters' questions. IREL and Midwest also did not return
requests for comment. A spokesperson for the KIA did not respond to calls and
messages.
CHINESE CONTROL
Although rare earths are relatively abundant, China
has near-absolute control over the technology that processes the minerals into
magnets. Beijing has sharply restricted exports of processed rare earths to
major economies like India this year as it seeks to shore up geopolitical
leverage amid its trade war with the United States.
Delhi has made moves to shore up supplies. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Aug. 31 that he had discussed rare-earth mining during a meeting in China with Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, whose forces are battling the KIA. He did not elaborate. No deal was publicly announced and the junta did not return a request for comment.
India is also seeking to address its lack of
industrial-scale facilities to process rare-earth elements to high purity
levels. IREL has sought partnerships with Japanese and Korean companies to
begin commercial production of rare-earth magnets, Reuters reported last month.
Asked by Reuters about India's engagement with the
KIA, an Indian official familiar with deliberations in Delhi said that the
country's interest in critical minerals was not a secret. "We naturally
encourage commercial cooperation on a business-to-business basis for securing
rare earth minerals from available suppliers globally," the official said,
without directly referencing interactions with the rebel group.
IREL sent a team to Kachin state in December to
study resources, Reuters previously reported. U.S. President Donald Trump's
administration has also heard proposals for tapping Myanmar's supplies of rare
earths, including one that would involve cooperation with India, the news
agency reported.
China has an ongoing relationship with the KIA,
which also supplies Beijing with heavy rare earths, said Angshuman Choudhury, a
Singapore-based independent analyst of India-Myanmar relations. "If China
is liaising with the KIA to secure access to rare earths, why should India be
left behind?" he said. "That competition also frames this
outreach."
A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said in response to Reuters' questions that Beijing was not aware of the KIA potentially working with India, but "all relevant parties in northern Myanmar appreciate and thank China for its constructive role in maintaining peace and stability in the region."
LONG-TERM DEAL?
The KIA was formed in 1961 to secure the autonomy
of Myanmar's minority Kachin community and has since expanded to become one of
the most formidable armed groups in the country. After Myanmar's military
ousted an elected civilian government in a 2021 coup, triggering a nationwide
uprising, the KIA emerged as a bulwark of the resistance against the
China-backed junta.
Last year, it seized from junta-aligned forces the Chipwe-Pangwa mining belt in Kachin state that produces the bulk of the global supply of heavy rare earths like dysprosium and terbium. While the KIA continues to supply China with the minerals, their relationship has run into friction over the KIA's ongoing battle with junta troops over the strategically vital town of Bhamo.
Beijing sees the junta as a guarantor of stability
in its backyard and has pressured the KIA to back down. The militia, in turn,
is ramping up engagement with neighbouring India. Officials in Delhi are
interested in a long-term arrangement with the KIA to build a supply route for
rare earths but there are concerns over the logistical challenges of bringing
large quantities of the material across remote and under-developed mountainous
regions, two of the people said.
IREL is involved in some of those discussions, but it wants a private company to take responsibility for the transportation, according to three people familiar with the matter. Even if the KIA and India were able to work out an arrangement over sending rare earths to India, the parties would face challenges processing the minerals without Chinese assistance, said Belgium-based rare-earths expert Nabeel Mancheri.
"Theoretically, if India gets these materials,
they could separate and make useful products," he said. "But it would
take time to scale this up to produce meaningful quantities catering to
international markets."
How North East may become a goldmine for India's
quest for rare earth
The North-East, nestled at the southern edge of the
Himalayas and bordering China, may be sitting on a massive untapped reserve of
minerals and rare earth elements (REE) estimated at over 70 million tonnes,
reported TOI.
A recent Geological Survey of India (GSI) report, based on extensive exploration, suggests that these reserves could play a crucial role in advancing India’s clean energy transition, strengthening digital infrastructure, and boosting defence manufacturing. The discovery also carries the potential to transform the North-East into a major regional economic hub.
As per the GSI report, five of the North-Eastern
states — Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland — are rich
in REE and mineral reserves, including of graphite, vanadium, lithium and
cobalt, which are crucial for the manufacture of batteries, semiconductors and
advanced alloys.
If the North-East emerges as a mineral and REE
hotspot, India would be positioned as a strategic counterweight, with supply
chains diversified and domestic resilience bolstered amid shifting global
dynamics.
How mineral-rich are North Eastern states?
The GSI report has flagged what could become India’s first lithium brine prospect in Arunachal Pradesh, right at China’s doorsteps, along with Nagaland and Assam.
The lithium brine discovery may not immediately
shake global markets, but it signals a strategic shift with long-term
implications for supply chains, pricing dynamics, and geopolitical leverage,
having the potential to challenge the dominance of the “Lithium Triangle”
(Chile, Argentina, Bolivia) and Australia’s hard rock mines.
“Almost every district in the state has minerals
deposits,” Tassar Talar, Arunachal’s geology and mining department director
told TOI. “Wherever you go, there are mineral deposits. We have given
prospecting licences to more than 20 mining companies, but mining is yet to
start.” He feels the state could be “India’s richest state” once all the
Meghalaya Meghalaya minerals are extracted.
Arunachal Pradesh has emerged as India’s most
significant domestic source of natural flake graphite, with confirmed reserves
of 24.8 million tonnes. The deposits are not only vast but also of high
quality, making them well-suited for use in lithium-ion battery anodes,
lubricants, and advanced composites.
Found alongside graphite is vanadium, a vital
alloying element for aerospace applications and for vanadium redox flow
batteries — a scalable technology for large-scale energy storage. In Pakke
Kessang district, near the Pakke Tiger Reserve, lies Lodoso — a biodiversity
hotspot and mineral-rich zone.
Beneath its subtropical forests, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has identified 2.2 million tonnes of rare earth elements, including notable concentrations of neodymium, an essential material for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles and wind turbines.
The Jashora Alkaline Complex in Assam’s Karbi
Anglong has emerged as a key site, with reserves of 28.6 million tonnes of rare
earth elements (REEs). In Meghalaya, the Sung Valley — spread across West
Jaintia and East Khasi Hills — hosts an ultramafic-alkaline-carbonatite complex
with strong potential for laterite-hosted REE extraction.
Nickel and cobalt deposits, embedded within the
ophiolite belts of Nagaland and Manipur, have also come into focus. Though
present only as trace elements in lateritised ultramafic rocks, they require
advanced beneficiation processes. If tapped effectively, these metals could
significantly strengthen India’s battery supply chain.
Among the most promising discoveries is the
Mollen-Washello area in Nagaland’s Phek district, close to the Indo-Myanmar
border. The nickel-cobalt-chromium suite identified here positions Nagaland as
a high-potential state for future critical mineral exploration.
