India explores rare-earth deal with Myanmar rebels after Chinese curbs

Highlights:

• India seeks rare-earth samples from Myanmar's Kachin Independence Army, sources say
• China restricts exports of rare-earth magnets, over which it has a near-monopoly
• India would face logistical challenges in transporting rare earths from Myanmar
• Delhi lacks technology to transform minerals into magnets at industrial scale

India is working to obtain rare-earth samples from Myanmar with the assistance of a powerful rebel group, according to four people familiar with the matter, as it seeks alternative supplies of a strategic resource tightly controlled by China.

India's Ministry of Mines asked state-owned and private firms to explore collecting and transporting samples from mines in northeastern Myanmar that are under the control of the Kachin Independence Army, three of the people said.

State-owned miner IREL and private firm Midwest Advanced Materials - which received government funding last year for the commercial manufacturing of rare-earth magnets - were among those involved in the discussions, the sources said.

New Delhi hopes to test the samples in domestic labs to ensure they contain sufficient levels of heavy rare earths that can be processed into magnets used in electronic vehicles and other advanced equipment, according to the people.

The ministry made the request - signalling a rare instance of Delhi engaging with a non-state actor - at an online meeting in July, according to two of the people. The meeting was attended by representatives from IREL, Midwest and at least one other company, one of the sources said.

The KIA has started gathering samples for India's analysis, said the fourth person, who is an official with the armed group. The rebels have also agreed to assess if bulk exports to India are possible, according to the KIA official, who like the other sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Details of India's engagement with the KIA are reported by Reuters for the first time.

India's foreign and mining ministries did not respond to Reuters' questions. IREL and Midwest also did not return requests for comment.

A spokesperson for the KIA did not respond to calls and messages.

CHINESE CONTROL

Although rare earths are relatively abundant, China has near-absolute control over the technology that processes the minerals into magnets.

Beijing has sharply restricted exports of processed rare earths to major economies like India this year as it seeks to shore up geopolitical leverage amid its trade war with the United States.

Delhi has made moves to shore up supplies. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Aug. 31 that he had discussed rare-earth mining during a meeting in China with Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, whose forces are battling the KIA. He did not elaborate.

No deal was publicly announced and the junta did not return a request for comment.

India is also seeking to address its lack of industrial-scale facilities to process rare-earth elements to high purity levels. IREL has sought partnerships with Japanese and Korean companies to begin commercial production of rare-earth magnets, Reuters reported last month.

Asked by Reuters about India's engagement with the KIA, an Indian official familiar with deliberations in Delhi said that the country's interest in critical minerals was not a secret. "We naturally encourage commercial cooperation on a business-to-business basis for securing rare earth minerals from available suppliers globally," the official said, without directly referencing interactions with the rebel group.

IREL sent a team to Kachin state in December to study resources, Reuters previously reported. US President Donald Trump's administration has also heard proposals for tapping Myanmar's supplies of rare earths, including one that would involve cooperation with India, the news agency reported.

China has an ongoing relationship with the KIA, which also supplies Beijing with heavy rare earths, said Angshuman Choudhury, a Singapore-based independent analyst of India-Myanmar relations.

"If China is liaising with the KIA to secure access to rare earths, why should India be left behind?" he said. "That competition also frames this outreach."

A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said in response to Reuters' questions that Beijing was not aware of the KIA potentially working with India, but "all relevant parties in northern Myanmar appreciate and thank China for its constructive role in maintaining peace and stability in the region."

LONG-TERM DEAL?

The KIA was formed in 1961 to secure the autonomy of Myanmar's minority Kachin community and has since expanded to become one of the most formidable armed groups in the country.

After Myanmar's military ousted an elected civilian government in a 2021 coup, triggering a nationwide uprising, the KIA emerged as a bulwark of the resistance against the China-backed junta.

Last year, it seized from junta-aligned forces the Chipwe-Pangwa mining belt in Kachin state that produces the bulk of the global supply of heavy rare earths like dysprosium and terbium.

While the KIA continues to supply China with the minerals, their relationship has run into friction over the KIA's ongoing battle with junta troops over the strategically vital town of Bhamo.

Beijing sees the junta as a guarantor of stability in its backyard and has pressured the KIA to back down. The militia, in turn, is ramping up engagement with neighbouring India.

Officials in Delhi are interested in a long-term arrangement with the KIA to build a supply route for rare earths but there are concerns over the logistical challenges of bringing large quantities of the material across remote and under-developed mountainous regions, two of the people said.

Minerals are transported to nearby China via a road network.

IREL is involved in some of those discussions, but it wants a private company to take responsibility for the transportation, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Even if the KIA and India were able to work out an arrangement over sending rare earths to India, the parties would face challenges processing the minerals without Chinese assistance, said Belgium-based rare-earths expert Nabeel Mancheri.

"Theoretically, if India gets these materials, they could separate and make useful products," he said. "But it would take time to scale this up to produce meaningful quantities catering to international markets."