‘Indian Ocean minerals can turn India self-reliant in nickel, cobalt’

Gandhinagar: Vast mineral deposits in the Indian Ocean can make India self-sufficient in nickel and cobalt, a top official of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) said on Tuesday.

Nickel and cobalt are critical ingredients in the lithium-ion batteries used in most electric vehicles, which are zero-emission automobiles.

Praising the Indian government’s efforts in this direction through its “Deep Ocean Mission”, Michael W Lodge, ISA’s Secretary-General, also exuded confidence that India can become a global leader in deep sea mining.

He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of International Conference on Seabed Mining’, held at the Gujarat National Law University in Gandhinagar.

“India was one of the very first pioneer investors in deep sea mining, starting from the 1980s. In recent years, there has been enormous progress. Under the Deep Ocean Mission, India’s progress was phenomenal. India has the potential to become a global leader in deep sea mineral exploration and exploitation,” said Lodge.

Headquartered in Kingston, Jamaica, International Seabed Authority is an intergovernmental body of 167 member states and the European Union.

Lodge said he was “extremely encouraged” by the commitment at the political, scientific and technical level and said India can compete with any other country in this avenue.

“We are looking at hard minerals, such as polymetallic nodules and sulphides. They contain vast quantities of critical minerals needed for the global energy transition, particularly copper, nickel, cobalt and manganese,” he said when asked what minerals can be mined from the Indian Ocean seabed apart from crude oil and gas.

“India is not self-sufficient in nickel, and it can create a big problem for India unless you can develop a domestic supply. But, the seabed contains all the nickel to meet India’s domestic demand, if India wants to become a leader in critical minerals globally, India has the potential to do that. Similarly, India does not have any secured source for cobalt. But, the seabed offers that source,” he said.