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India’s Ministry of Steel and Brazil’s Ministry of Mines & Energy signed an MoU in New Delhi (Hyderabad House) in the presence of PM Narendra Modi and President Lula to strengthen cooperation on mining and minerals needed for steelmaking, think iron ore and other critical inputs Brazil is strong in (like manganese, nickel, niobium). The intent is to make India’s steel inputs more secure, resilient and sustainable, while improving productivity across the value chain.
What the MoU actually targets:
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Investment tie-ups in exploration, mining and steel-sector infrastructure, so supply isn’t just “spot buys” but longer-horizon capacity creation.
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Processing + beneficiation + recycling tech cooperation to improve yield and reduce waste (important as steel decarbonisation pressures rise).
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Automation + AI-driven exploration (using AI to analyse geoscientific data) to find/plan mineral extraction faster and smarter, this is the “modernisation” hook.
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Best-practice sharing on extraction, processing and environmental management to keep the chain compliant and future-proof.
Why this matters now: India is expanding steel capacity (reported at ~218 MT) and wants predictable access to key inputs as competition for minerals rises globally. The pact also sits inside a broader India-Brazil push to lift bilateral trade from ~$15 bn to $20 bn+ over the next five years.
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