Relevance: GS-2 (IR—Global Groupings), GS-3 (Critical Minerals, Technology Security) | Source: Indian Express, U.S. State Department

News

The United States has launched Pax Silica, a new coalition to secure supply chains for critical minerals, semiconductors, and advanced clean-energy technologies. 

What is Pax Silica?

A high-trust, small coalition designed to:

• Key partners include Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the UAE, and Australia — India is not part of the group.
• Reduce global dependence on China, which controls 60–70% of global rare earth processing and over 80% of rare earth magnet production.
• Build resilient supply chains for EV batteries, solar equipment, AI hardware, and defence electronics.
• Support investments in mineral extraction, processing, and next-generation manufacturing within partner countries.

Why India is Left Out

Although India is key to Indo-Pacific strategy, exclusion reflects:

• Low domestic refining capacity: India refines <2% of critical minerals it consumes.
• Slow project execution: Several lithium and cobalt projects are still in exploration stages.
• U.S. preference for treaty allies in sensitive technology ecosystems.
• India’s limited presence in global semiconductor supply chains.

However, India remains a member of the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), which aims at diversifying global mineral supply.

India’s Strategic Position

• India recently secured lithium blocks in Argentina via KABIL.
• India holds 5.9 million tonnes of domestic lithium resources (Jammu & Kashmir discovery, 2023).
• India is negotiating mineral agreements with Australia, Namibia, and DRC.

These steps help India reduce its dependence on China, which currently supplies over 90% of India’s rare earth imports.

Significance

Exclusion underscores India’s need to rapidly scale critical mineral processing and semiconductor ecosystem capacity to join future high-technology coalitions.

Q. Consider the following statements about global critical mineral initiatives:

1. China controls a majority share of global rare earth processing, which is one reason behind the creation of Pax Silica.
2. India is currently a member of both Pax Silica and the Minerals Security Partnership.
3. Lithium and cobalt are classified as critical minerals due to their essential role in clean energy transitions.

How many of the above statements are correct?
A. One only
B. Two only
C. All three
D. None