Strategic & Critical Metals
The key to the advancement in next generation manufacturing and green energy: Sashakt Bharat
Strategic metals and minerals are those vital to modern technology and industry, but whose supply is limited and subject to disruption. They are important to support military, industrial or commercial purposes that are essential to the economy, defense, medicine or infrastructure. Low natural abundance, few known deposits and sporadic supply characterize strategic metals.
Industrial and manufacturing industry plays an indispensable role; moreover, minerals play a vital role in sustaining this strategic industry. Metals and minerals such as uranium, tin, cobalt, lithium, germanium, gallium and tungsten are considered strategic because their substitutes are limited in India. At present, no production is done from the indigenous ores.
Twelve critical minerals could play an important role in the success of ‘Make in India’ programme for use in aerospace, automobiles, cameras, defense, entertainment systems, laptops, medical imaging, nuclear energy, and smartphones. These critical minerals would also play a role in nurturing the domestic manufacturing capacity to support the government’s low-carbon plans, such as the 100GW solar target, faster adoption and manufacturing of hybrid and electric vehicles, and the national domestic efficient lighting program.
CSIR-NML is engaged in the priority research area of strategic and critical metals extraction from primary, secondary and urban wastes,
