India to sign mining pact with Mongolia soon, govt source says

Steel Authority of India

09/01/2025 07:31

By Neha Arora
       NEW DELHI, Jan 9 (Reuters) - India is expected to sign a
preliminary agreement with Mongolia soon in the area of geology
and exploration, a senior Indian government official with direct
knowledge of the matter said.
    Landlocked Mongolia is rich in deposits of copper and coking
coal, and India is mostly dependent on imports to meet rising
demand for the red metal used in power, construction and
electrical vehicles as well as coking coal for steelmaking.
    "India's cabinet has approved the MoU (memorandum of
understanding) and both countries are expected to sign it soon,"
the source said, declining to be identified as the deliberations
are not yet public.
    India's federal mines ministry did not respond to a Reuters
email seeking comment.
    Mongolia's Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry did not
immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comments.
    Companies such as Adani, Hindalco and Vedanta have expressed
an interest in sourcing copper from Mongolia, the source said.
All three companies did not respond to emails from Reuters
seeking comment.
    Both Indian and Mongolian officials are working out supply
routes for Indian companies to source copper and coking coal,
with India preferring the route from Vladivostok in Russia
despite the longer distance, the official said.
    "China is convenient but we prefer the route from Russia,"
the official said.
    Relations between Asian giants India and China were strained
after a deadly military clash on their disputed border in 2020
but have been on the mend since they reached an agreement in
October to pull back troops from their last two stand-off points
in the western Himalaya mountains. 
    Unlike China, India has traditionally maintained close ties
with Russia.
    Resource-rich Mongolia can offer superior grades of coking
coal, industry officials say.
    In November, India's JSW Steel  JSTL.NS  and state-run Steel
Authority of India (SAIL)  SAIL.NS  were in talks with Mongolian
authorities to import two shipments of coking coal, Reuters
reported.

 (Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
 ((neha.dasgupta@tr.com;))