India is working to obtain rare earth samples from Myanmar with the help of a powerful rebel group, according to four people familiar with the matter, in their search for alternative supplies of a strategic resource strongly controlled by China.
The Ministry of Mines of India asked state and private companies to explore the collection and transport of mines samples in the northeast of Myanmar, under the control of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), three of the sources said.
The Ireel state mining company and the private company Midwest Advanced Materials, which received government financing last year for the commercial manufacture of rare earth magnets, participated in the conversations.
Nueva Delhi hopes to analyze samples in national laboratories to ensure that they contain sufficient levels of heavy rare earths that can be processed in magnets used in electronic vehicles and other advanced equipment.
The Ministry made the application – which is an exceptional case of collaboration between Delhi and a non -state actor – at an online meeting held in July. The meeting was attended by representatives of Irel, Midwest and at least another company, said one of the sources.
The KIA began to collect samples for India’s analysis. The rebels also agreed to evaluate the possibility of making mass exports to India, according to the KIA official, who, like the other sources, spoke under condition of anonymity to address delicate issues.
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China was not aware of India with Kia
Although rare earths are relatively abundant, China has almost absolute control over technology that processes minerals to turn them into magnets.
Beijing drastically restricted the exports of rare earths prosecuted to large economies such as India this year, in its attempt to strengthen its geopolitical influence in the midst of its commercial war with the United States.
Delhi took measures to reinforce the supply. The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, declared on August 31 that he had approached rare earth mining during a meeting in China with the Chief of the Junta de Myanmar, Min Sung Hlaing, whose forces fight against Kia. He did not give more details.
No agreement was publicly announced and the Board did not respond to a request for comments.
India also seeks to address their lack of facilities at an industrial scale to process rare earth elements at high levels of purity. Ilel looked for alliances with Japanese and Korean companies to start the commercial production of rare earth magnets, Reuters reported last month.
Before Reuters’ question about India’s collaboration with KIA, an Indian official familiar with the deliberations in Delhi said that the country’s interest in critical minerals was not a secret.
“Naturally, we encourage commercial cooperation between companies to obtain rare land suppliers available worldwide,” said the official, without direct reference to the interactions with the rebel group.
Irel sent a team to the state of Kachin in December to study resources, Reuters said previously. The administration of US President Donald Trump also listened to proposals to take advantage of Myanmar’s rare land supply, including one that would imply cooperation with India, according to the news agency.
China maintains a continuous relationship with the KIA, which also supplies heavy strange earth to Beijing, said Angshman Choudhury, an independent analyst for the relations between India and Myanmar, based in Singapore.
“If China is getting in touch with KIA to ensure access to rare earths, why should India be left behind?” He asked. “That competition also frames this approach.”
A spokesman from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to Reuters questions, said that Beijing did not know the possible collaboration of KIA with India, but “all relevant parts in northern Myanmar appreciate and thank China for their constructive role in the maintenance of peace and stability in the region.”
With Reuters information
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