Media365
India’s push to become self-reliant in critical minerals is entering a new phase. While New Delhi continues to auction mineral blocks and acquire overseas assets, policymakers now believe the fastest way to reduce import dependence may lie in recovering valuable minerals from industrial waste and urban scrap rather than waiting years for new mines to become operational.
The shift comes as the government seeks to secure supplies of critical minerals that underpin sectors ranging from batteries and semiconductors to defence equipment, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.
Why waste is becoming a strategic resource
Officials say India’s domestic mining programme, though expanding rapidly, cannot meet the country’s immediate needs.
Speaking at the 15th India Minerals & Metals Forum organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Anupam Lahiri, Programme Director (Minerals) at Niti Aayog, said most critical mineral blocks auctioned so far remain at the preliminary exploration stage and will require several years before they can be converted into producing mines.
That has prompted policymakers to focus on what experts increasingly describe as “secondary resources” — mine overburden, tailings, fly ash, steel slag, electronic waste and spent batteries.
“India’s critical minerals journey cannot depend on mining alone,” Lahiri said. “Domestic exploration will take time, so we also need to focus on the resources that are already around us.”
According to Lahiri, Niti Aayog has constituted a technical committee to assess the recovery potential of critical minerals from mine overburden, tailings and other mining waste. The panel has already held consultations with companies including Coal India, Singareni Collieries, Jindal Steel and the Adani Group.
A separate committee is examining how India can recover critical minerals from urban waste streams such as e-waste and used batteries by mapping the entire value chain — from collection and transportation to processing costs and revenue streams — to identify where policy support may be required.
Mining the waste already available
The government’s strategy marks a significant shift from the traditional approach of relying primarily on virgin mineral deposits.
Instead of treating industrial waste as an environmental liability, policymakers increasingly view it as a strategic resource capable of supplying materials that are otherwise imported.
Dr Pankaj Satija, Chairman of the ICC National Expert Committee on Minerals & Metals, said the government’s strategy now rests on three pillars: accelerating domestic exploration, expanding recycling and recovering critical minerals from industrial waste streams such as steel slag and fly ash.
India has identified 31 critical minerals considered essential for the country’s economic and strategic interests, while more than 500 exploration blocks are currently under various stages of exploration, he said.
Satija argued that e-waste should no longer be viewed merely as waste management but as a valuable resource capable of supplying critical minerals needed for the energy transition.
Besides recycling, government agencies are also studying the recovery of valuable minerals from steel slag, fly ash and spent batteries using technologies such as hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy.
Industry is already experimenting
The shift is not confined to policy discussions.
Tata Steel said it has been conducting research on recovering nickel and cobalt from chromite overburden in Odisha’s Sukinda Valley, where early trials have yielded encouraging results.
Sushanta Kumar Mishra, Executive In-charge of Tata Steel’s Ferro Alloys & Minerals Division, said the company had successfully conducted trials to produce nickel pig iron in India and expects further progress over the next one to two years.
He said recovering critical minerals from mining waste represents a significant opportunity, although commercial viability, technology and regulatory clarity remain key challenges.
Mishra added that Tata Steel aims to transform nearly 80 per cent of its ferroalloys portfolio into value-added products over the next three years as India seeks to reduce dependence on imported raw materials used in speciality steel and strategic industries.
Early proof that the approach can work
The government believes the concept has already demonstrated promise.
Lahiri cited the work of NLC India, which has successfully recovered rare earth elements from fly ash, as an early proof of concept that industrial waste can become an important source of strategic minerals.
Officials are also examining how mine overburden and tailings generated during coal mining could yield additional mineral resources instead of remaining unused waste.
However, several policy questions remain unresolved.
One challenge involves royalty payments when critical minerals are recovered from waste generated at existing coal mines. Policymakers are examining how states should be compensated while ensuring mining companies have sufficient incentives to invest in extraction technologies.
Overseas partnerships still matter
Recycling alone will not eliminate India’s dependence on imports.
The government continues to pursue overseas mineral assets through Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) in countries such as Australia, Argentina and the United States.
Yet overseas acquisitions come with their own constraints. Many resource-rich countries allow foreign companies to mine minerals but prohibit exports of raw ore, requiring processing and value addition to take place domestically before exports.
That makes building India’s own refining and recycling ecosystem even more important.
A race against time
India’s demand for critical minerals is expected to rise sharply as the country expands electric vehicle manufacturing, battery production, renewable energy capacity and defence manufacturing under its broader industrial strategy.
Opening new mines typically takes years because of exploration, environmental clearances and infrastructure development. Recovering minerals from waste streams, by contrast, could provide a faster route to strengthening domestic supplies while reducing dependence on imports.
For policymakers, the country’s next strategic mineral resource may not lie beneath untouched ground. It could already be sitting in mine dumps, industrial waste piles and millions of tonnes of discarded electronic devices waiting to be recycled
