US call to delist rare earths co to shore up critical ties

India's rare earth procurement and refinement may get a boost with the US government decision to delist Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IREL). IREL is one of the companies that can potentially benefit from US NSA Sullivan's announcement on Monday to delist certain Indian entities for successful implementation of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal.

This will complement the critical minerals' MoU between the US Department of Commerce and India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Ministry of Mines, driving new avenues of cooperation in critical mineral supply chains such as graphite, gallium and germanium.

India and the US will also undertake joint research for beneficiation and co-development of processing technologies for critical minerals such as lithium, titanium, gallium and vanadium, according to a factsheet issued by the White House after Sullivan's visit to New Delhi.


India and the US may build a collaborative programme between the Geological Survey of India and the US Geological Survey on exploration, characterisation and evaluation of rare earth elements and critical mineral deposits, according to the White House.

Both sides will also undertake other major areas of collaboration. This includes the first-ever joint effort between US and Indian astronauts at the International Space Station with the launch of Axiom-4 slated this spring. This will mark a major milestone in US-India human spaceflight partnership and space exploration.

The two countries would also collaborate on launching a new bilateral space accelerator to promote commercial space cooperation, including around lunar exploration, human spaceflight, geospatial data and services and the co-development of technology, according to the fact sheet.

The two sides are also preparing for the launch of NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar this spring. The jointly developed satellite will map the entirety of the Earth's surface twice every 12 days as the US and India partner on combating climate change and other global challenges. The first bilateral experts' exchange on space situational awareness and space traffic coordination will be held in the first half of 2025.