India revives talks with Zambia to invest in critical minerals, sources say

Business Recorder reports, citing two sources, that New Delhi has restarted discussions with Lusaka over possible investment in copper and other vital minerals. Preliminary talks took place on August 26 between Indian Ministry of Mines staff and Zambian officials. The sources asked not to be named because the discussions are confidential, and one of them said a previously stalled project was not raised.

In April, Reuters had said talks stalled over Lusaka's lack of assurances on mining rights for a 9,000 square kilometre area handed to India last year. Khanij Bidesh India Ltd, the country's main vehicle for overseas mineral sourcing, is also weighing prospects in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Russia and Indonesia, and is in talks on a Malawi project.

With the world's second-largest appetite for refined copper, India has seen imports climb sharply since Vedanta's Sterlite Copper smelter shut in 2018. Government projections suggest that by 2047 the country could depend on imports for 91% to 97% of its copper concentrates.