ANALYSIS Pax Silica invite puts India’s critical minerals push under geopolitical spotlight

Mining of rare earth minerals

• India may join US-led Pax Silica alliance for critical minerals supply chains
• Pax Silica aims to reduce reliance on China for minerals and tech supply chains
• India faces challenges in rare earth production and seeks alternative suppliers

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India's ongoing push to secure critical minerals is turning into one of its most crucial strategic projects, shaped by geopolitics and industrial policy.

The shift became clearer this week after the United States said it would invite India to join the Pax Silica alliance. At the same time, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw participated in a high-level critical minerals meeting hosted by the US Treasury in Washington.

At the ministerial meeting, Vaishnaw spoke about the need for resilient and trusted supply chains for minerals such as lithium, cobalt, rare earths and permanent magnets, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Rare earth minerals such as these are used in semiconductor manufacturing, electronics, electric vehicles and clean energy systems.

Hence, they are increasingly being seen as strategic assets by governments, and has started to play a key role in geopolitics.

For instance, one of the reasons United States wants to 'take over' Greenland, is because of its strategic location and rich mineral sources. A 2023 survey by European Commission found that 25 of 34 minerals are found in Greenland.

In this context, the a paper on International Institute on Strategic Studiesinitiative gains significance. Launched by the US with a group of allied countries, it is aimed at reducing dependence on China-dominated technology and minerals supply chains.

A part of the Pax Silica declaration reads: "We encourage efforts to partner on strategic stacks of the global technology supply chain, including, but not limited to, software applications and platforms, frontier foundation models, information connectivity and network infrastructure, compute and semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, transportation logistics, minerals refining and processing, and energy. "

India was not part of the original group. However, India's recent efforts to build a semiconductor ecosystem along with its recent domestic intiatives to boost its critical minerals have garnered global attention.

India’s vulnerability in critical minerals is well documented. According to Minister of State in Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh, Monazite is the primary source of rare earth mineral in India at around 4000 MT per annum.

Singh informed that IREL(India) Limited, formerly India Rare Earths Limited, has installed capacity to process about 10,000 MT of rare earth-bearing mineral.

However, Singh said, the production is capped on account of non-grant of mining leases, environment clearance, CRZ clearance from MoEF & CC, Consent to Operate, restrictions on account of Forest and uncontrolled inhabitation and so on.

India also has identified massive lithium deposits. However, the country still remains dependent on China for refined minerals and downstream products.

In December 2025, China announced restrictions on rare earth magnet exports, which has already caused disruption in India's automotive sector.

With the Pax Silica membership, India could potentially explore alternative suppliers of such minerals. Countries like Australia, which is also a member of Pax Silica, also possesses world-class mineral reserves.

Additionally, Japan, another member of the initiative, has minerals refining technologies, according to a paper on International Institute on Strategic Studies. This coupled with coordinated investment frameworks are seen as key pieces India cannot easily replicate on its own.

However, there are also trade-offs.

Deeper alignment with US-led frameworks could mean tighter compliance requirements for Indian firms and added pressure to align with Western export control regimes, a paper by Dateversee said.

Experts at Center for Strategic and International Studies  have also warned that smaller manufacturers and suppliers could struggle with higher compliance costs. At the same time, India’s broader foreign policy balancing act — with Russia, Iran and China — could become more complex.

For now, the government appears to be hedging.

Apart from Pax Silica, India is pushing ahead with its National Critical Minerals Mission, overseas acquisitions via Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL) (in Argentina, Australia and Chile)  and a proposed rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing scheme.

Whether Pax Silica becomes a turning point or just another layer in India’s long-running minerals strategy is yet to be seen. However, for India, the main task would be in converting policy momentum into practical work on the ground in the shape of processing plants, refining capacity and domestic manufacturing.