India will auction about 20 blocks of critical minerals in the next week as the country looks to secure domestic supplies of the raw materials, considered key for clean energy transition.
India has made “necessary amendments” in its mines and minerals law to speed up the exploration of critical minerals, Kantha Rao, secretary of the ministry of mines, told attendees at the IEA Critical Minerals Summit in Paris on Thursday.
“The focus on critical minerals in India has been enhanced through more exploratory activities… and over the last couple of years we have about 124 new projects that have been lined up,” Mr Rao said.
Earlier this year, India found 5.9 million tonnes of lithium reserves in the Jammu and Kashmir region, and the government had said it hoped to find more reserves later this year.
The country aims to have electric vehicles account for 30 per cent of car sales by 2030, as it strives to cut its carbon emissions and dependence on crude oil imports. It plans to reach net-zero emissions by 2070.
Last month, an official from India’s mining ministry said preparations had begun to start the auction process for about 100 critical mineral blocks in the next four months.
The blocks are for minerals including nickel, lithium, cobalt, and platinum, along with rare earths, mines secretary Vivek Bharadwaj told Bloomberg.
The market for critical minerals, used in electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies, more than doubled in size over the past five years, according to the International Energy Agency.
From 2017 to 2022, the energy sector drove a threefold increase in lithium demand, a 70 per cent surge in cobalt demand and a 40 per cent increase in the demand for nickel, the Paris-based agency said in its Critical Minerals Market Review in July.
The energy transition minerals market reached $320 billion in 2022, moving it increasingly to the centre stage for the global mining industry, the IEA said.
“There is a risk that this clean energy transition moving fast may be hinging on whether or not the world will have enough critical minerals at the right time and at [an] affordable price,” Fatih Birol, IEA’s executive director, said on Thursday.
Mr Birol also said supply chain risks were posed by the concentration of production and refining of critical minerals in a few countries.
“The magic word is diversification… [and]while the investments are growing, the concentration is growing as well,” he said.
US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm, who was also speaking at the event, urged policymakers to think “creatively” when it came to critical minerals.
“We've got to align across our innovation ecosystems, permitting processes, market transparency, and more, so that when supply disruptions strike, we'll have a broad set of tools to aid in our response,” Ms Granholm said.
The exploitation of critical minerals should not turn into a “race to the bottom” and companies should look “beyond the balance sheets” to ensure fair wages, safe working conditions and environmental protections, she said.
EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton told participants at the event that Europe intends to be a “strong partner” in critical minerals collaborations.
“Today, the EU industry remains a world leader in mining equipment as well as…recycling facilities, but it's fair to say that we lost we lost our competitive edge in mining and in processing for many reasons,” Mr Breton said.
Miners operating in the region face several hurdles including administrative complexity and high energy prices, he added.
“Also, let us be honest. We have [for] maybe too long considered that decarbonising meant relocating outside of the EU, and this was wrong. We need to change that.”
The specs: Rolls-Royce Cullinan
Price, base: Dh1 million (estimate)
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 563hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 850Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 15L / 100km
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Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Essentials
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines all fly direct from the UAE to Kuala Lumpur and on to Penang from about Dh2,300 return, including taxes.
Where to stay
In Kuala Lumpur, Element is a recently opened, futuristic hotel high up in a Norman Foster-designed skyscraper. Rooms cost from Dh400 per night, including taxes. Hotel Stripes, also in KL, is a great value design hotel, with an infinity rooftop pool. Rooms cost from Dh310, including taxes.
In Penang, Ren i Tang is a boutique b&b in what was once an ancient Chinese Medicine Hall in the centre of Little India. Rooms cost from Dh220, including taxes.
23 Love Lane in Penang is a luxury boutique heritage hotel in a converted mansion, with private tropical gardens. Rooms cost from Dh400, including taxes.
In Langkawi, Temple Tree is a unique architectural villa hotel consisting of antique houses from all across Malaysia. Rooms cost from Dh350, including taxes.
RESULT
Copa del Rey, semi-final second leg
Real Madrid 0
Barcelona 3 (Suarez (50', 73' pen), Varane (69' OG)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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NATIONAL%20SELECTIONS
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
