Removing duties on 12 critical minerals including copper and Li-ion battery scrap will reduce costs for the recycling industry. Credit: BJP7images/Shutterstock.

The Indian Government has announced the elimination of customs duty on the waste and scrap of several critical minerals including antimony, cobalt, tungsten and copper, among others.

The strategic move, declared by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during the annual budget presentation, is expected to promote the recycling industry in the country and bolster the critical minerals sector.

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This will help Indian producers compete globally and boost exports of secondary and downstream products.

The Ministry of Mines said in a statement: “The elimination of copper, brass, lead and zinc scraps will benefit the domestic secondary producers by reducing their costs. This will also provide a level playing field vis-à-vis international secondary producers, and enable Indian players to compete globally and increase exports of secondary/downstream products.

“Duty elimination on scraps of 12 critical minerals (including copper), cobalt powder and lithium-ion [Li-ion] battery scrap will provide feedstock to the critical mineral recycling industry at a lesser cost, making this industry more competitive, and also promote investments in newer capacity.”

Last year, India removed customs duties on 25 critical minerals that are not found domestically.

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Additionally, a strategy for the extraction of critical minerals from tailings was announced. Effective management of tailings will enhance the local supply of critical minerals and support the domestic processing sector.

Sitharaman was quoted by Reuters as saying: “The government will also launch a policy for recovery of critical minerals from tailings or byproducts of mining.”

The announcement by the Finance Minister follows the approval last week of Rs163bn ($1.8bn) in investment to develop India’s critical minerals sector, as the country strives to secure key raw materials for its energy transition technologies.

India’s focus on critical minerals including lithium is part of its effort to reduce import reliance. Despite the country’s ongoing development of lithium processing technology, it has sought international assistance to advance in this field.