Now Reading: India targets Latin America for critical minerals and energy
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India targets Latin America for critical minerals and energy
India is pushing into Latin America for critical minerals and energy, aiming to diversify away from China-dominated supply chains. Recent moves include a state-owned lithium deal in Argentina, a bilateral critical minerals…
The Story in Brief
India is pushing into Latin America for critical minerals and energy, aiming to diversify away from China-dominated supply chains. Recent moves include a state-owned lithium deal in Argentina, a bilateral critical minerals pact with Brazil, and a bid for lithium extraction in Chile by Coal India. In June 2026, Venezuela’s acting president visited New Delhi, where energy and minerals topped the agenda. India was the second-largest buyer of Venezuelan oil in May 2026.
The region holds vast lithium, copper, oil and gas reserves. India’s strategy now includes moving from buyer to investor and operator, as ONGC Videsh prepares to operate two Venezuelan oil blocks.
The Indian Opinion
The narrative that India is arriving too late to the Latin American resources race ignores the deliberate pace of government-backed deals in Argentina and Chile. The bigger exaggeration is that mining access alone solves India’s supply-chain problem. China’s grip on processing and refining remains the real bottleneck. Whether Indian firms like Coal India and ONGC Videsh move beyond extraction into local processing will determine if these stakes become strategic assets or just another import line.
Source: government.economictimes.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
