Context:
NITI Aayog has highlighted that recycling e-waste, battery waste and mine tailings can provide India a faster route to critical minerals security. This is important as domestic mining and exploration may take years to become commercially productive.
Explanation:
- Critical minerals are minerals essential for economic growth, clean energy, defence and advanced technologies, but have supply risks.
- India has identified 31 critical minerals, including lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, rare earth elements, copper and gallium.
- These minerals are vital for EV batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, semiconductors, electronics and strategic sectors.
- India currently depends heavily on imports for many critical minerals, creating supply-chain vulnerability.
- Urban mining means recovering valuable metals and minerals from waste such as e-waste and discarded batteries.
- Mine tailings are leftover materials after mineral extraction; they may contain recoverable critical minerals.
- Fly ash, steel slag, overburden dumps and industrial waste can also act as secondary sources.
- Recycling supports circular economy, reduces import dependence, lowers environmental damage and improves resource efficiency.
Source: (The Indian Express, The Hindu, Live Mint)
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Critical Minerals Recycling for India’s Resource Security