New Delhi [India], August 20 : Gambia is in talks with India to leverage the latter's mining expertise, particularly for discovering critical minerals.
Replying to a question on India and Gambia's collaboration in the field of critical minerals during the ongoing CII India Africa Business Conclave, Nani Juwara, Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Gambia, said he had some discussions with the Indian ambassador to Gambia regarding "some of the areas" that they wanted to cooperate with the government of India, especially in the areas of critical minerals.
Critical minerals are those minerals that are essential for economic development and national security. It is imperative to identify and develop value chains for the minerals which are critical to the country.
Talking toduring the conclave on Tuesday, the Gambian minister, who took charge of the department recently, said, "I think we are very optimistic. We have already started the discussions with the ambassador, the Indian ambassador to the Gambia when he made a courtesy call on me when I was appointed as the minister."
Both countries have started discussions around critical minerals, particularly where Gambia would "require some support from India because we know that the Indian government has a lot of experience and expertise in those areas," the minister said.
"There are a lot of companies that are also operating in the areas of critical minerals. So we were looking forward to those engagements, and that's why we are here (in India), so that we can further those engagements to at least...have that partnership with companies that have the real expertise to come to Gambia," he added.
"(Indian companies) can support our geological department to be able to do the required investigation, so that some of the critical minerals that we have not yet discovered, which we believe are in-country, but because the surveys that we are doing are not detailed, and some of them have some limitations, and we wanted to see how this can be expanded so that some of those critical minerals that are of economic value to our country can also be discovered," the minister added.
Critical minerals that are discovered in Gambia would benefit both the countries, the minister said.
In June 2023, India had identified 30 critical minerals taking into account its requirements for sectors like defence, agriculture, energy, pharmaceutical, and telecom, and in line with its Atmanirbar (self-reliance) roadmap.
Those critical minerals are Antimony, Beryllium, Bismuth, Cobalt, Copper, Gallium, Germanium, Graphite, Hafnium, Indium, Lithium, Molybdenum, Niobium, Nickel, PGE, Phosphorous, Potash, REE, Rhenium, Silicon, Strontium, Tantalum, Tellurium, Tin, Titanium, Tungsten, Vanadium, Zirconium, Selenium, and Cadmium. They are expected to serve as a guiding framework for policy formulation, strategic planning, and investment decisions in the mining sector.
Further, on possible collaboration in the petroleum sector, the minister said his country has a lot of potential.
"There are a lot of prospects for companies to come and also work with us, partner with us, to explore our petroleum potentials. We have a lot of potential," he said.
Citing Senegal, a neighboring country, which has just discovered a large quantity of oil and already started production, the Gambian minister said his country is in the same geological belt.
"So we also believe that we also have oil," he said. "It's just a matter of time, but we believe that we are going to also discover and drill our oil."
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