Context: United States recently announced the formation of a global alliance called the Mineral Security Partnership (MSP). However, there have been growing concerns in India over being left out of MSP.

Minerals Security Partnership (MSP)

• It was launched by USA.

• Member countries: Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea (South Korea), Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the European Commission.

Aim

• To bolster critical mineral supply chains.

• Catalyzing investment from governments and the private sector to develop strategic opportunities.

• It will focus on the supply chains of minerals such as Cobalt, Nickel, Lithium, and also the 17 ‘rare earth’ minerals.

• It is a part of a global ‘China-plus-one’ strategy adopted post the Covid-19 pandemic by the western nations.

• China Plus One, also known simply as Plus One, is the business strategy to avoid investing only in China and diversify business into other countries.

Need for MSP

• As the Covid-19 pandemic disruption and geopolitical tensions with China increased, the Chinese near-monopoly over production and export of rare earth minerals creates major supply-side insecurities.

• To encounter the strategy a new US-led partnership initiative of 11 nations called the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) came into existence.

• India is not a part of this initiative.

What are rare earth elements?

There 17 Rare Earth Elements (REE) in total. They are:

• 15 Lanthanides (atomic numbers 57 (Lanthanum) to 71 in the periodic table) plus

• Scandium (atomic number 21) and

• Yttrium (39).

REE are classified into

• light RE elements (LREE) and

• heavy RE elements (HREE).

• China is the leading producer of HREEs (70%).

Uses of Rare Earth Elements

• Used individually or in combination to make phosphors (luminescent substances) for many types of ray tubes and flat panel displays.

• Yttrium, europium, and terbium phosphors are the red-green-blue.

• The glass industry is the largest consumer of REE raw materials, using them for glass polishing and as additives that provide colour and special optical properties.

• Rare-earth magnets are used in computer hard disks and CD–ROM and DVD disk drives.

• Petroleum- refining also demands REE.

• REEs are used as catalyst in many chemical reactions.

Why India wants to join MSP?

• Some of the rare earth elements available India are: Lanthanum, Cerium, Neodymium, Praseodymium and Samarium.

• While others classified as heavy RE (HREE) elements such as Dysprosium, Terbium, Europium are not available in extractable quantity in India.

• India relies heavily on China for HREE. Hence, If India is not able to join MSP and explore and produce these minerals, it will have to depend on a handful of countries, including China.

What Are Critical Minerals?

• Critical minerals are mineral resources that are essential to the economy.

• It is a metallic or non-metallic element that is essential for the functioning of modern technologies, economics, or national security.

Important Critical minerals

• Copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth minerals are essential components in the rapidly growing clean energy technologies such as wind turbines and electric vehicles.

• Lithium, gallium, tellurium, and indium are central to high-tech sectors.

Uses of Critical minerals

• The advanced technologies which can be manufactured using critical minerals include mobile phones, computers, tablets, semiconductors, fibre-optic cables, and defence, aerospace and medical applications.

• Used in low-emission technologies such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels, and rechargeable batteries.

• Used for common products such as stainless steel.