According to a senior Indian government official, India is close to finalizing a preliminary deal with Mongolia on geology and exploration. The agreement comes as India looks to diversify its supply of vital minerals.
Mongolia, a landlocked country, has huge supplies of copper and coking coal, which are critical to India’s expanding demands in power generation, building, electric vehicles, and steel manufacturing.
“The Indian cabinet has approved the MoU, and both nations are expected to sign it soon,” said the official. While the Indian federal mines ministry and Mongolia’s Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry have yet to react, major Indian corporations such as Adani, Hindalco, and Vedanta are allegedly interested in purchasing copper from Mongolia.
Indian and Mongolian officials are looking into supply routes, with India preferring the Vladivostok route in Russia over the more accessible Chinese option. “Despite the longer distance, we prefer the route through Russia,” the official said, reflecting India’s fragile relationship with China following the 2020 border confrontation.
Industry analysts emphasize Mongolia’s ability to produce high-quality coking coal. According to reports, JSW Steel and the state-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL) are already in discussions about importing coking coal from Mongolia to fulfil increased demand.
