Hyderabad-based Midwest Ltd became the first private Indian firm to secure overseas mines, signing with Indonesia's PERMINAS as private players push into Africa too.
At a glance
- Midwest Ltd, based in Hyderabad, is the first private Indian company to secure mining assets overseas, through an MoU with Indonesia's state miner PERMINAS alongside Midwest Energy Ltd and NFTDC.
- Private Indian miners and diaspora entrepreneurs are separately building positions in Africa across graphite, cobalt, lithium, tin, tantalum and tungsten -- metals India currently has little to no domestic production of.
- India's government-led auction program has placed 56 of 88 critical and strategic mineral blocks with buyers, a success rate above 63% as of June 2026.
- 46 exploration projects involving 11 government-notified private exploration agencies were approved in FY2024-25, of which 31 were specifically critical-mineral projects -- evidence the private-exploration channel is scaling alongside the auction program, not replacing it.
What happened
Hyderabad-based Midwest Ltd has become the first private Indian company to secure mining assets abroad, signing a memorandum of understanding with Indonesia's state-run PT Perusahaan Mineral Nasional (PERMINAS), alongside Midwest Energy Ltd and the Non-Ferrous Materials Technology Development Centre (NFTDC). The deal marks a shift in India's critical-minerals strategy, which until recently has run almost entirely through government-led auctions and state-backed exploration. Private Indian miners and diaspora entrepreneurs are separately expanding into resource-rich Africa, pursuing graphite, cobalt, lithium, tin, tantalum and tungsten through exploration ventures and local partnerships. On the domestic front, the government has auctioned 56 of 88 critical and strategic mineral blocks put up since the program began, a success rate above 63% as of June 2026, while 46 projects involving 11 government-notified private exploration agencies were approved in FY2024-25, including 31 focused specifically on critical minerals.
The details
Most of what's been written about India's critical-minerals push this year has centered on government machinery: auction rounds, ministry statements, bilateral pacts with Russia or Brazil, BRICS declarations calling for diversified supply chains. Midwest Ltd's move is a different kind of story, and arguably a more telling one, because it's the private sector choosing to go first rather than waiting for the state to lead.
The mechanics of the deal are straightforward: an MoU with PERMINAS, Indonesia's state minerals company, backed by Midwest Energy Ltd for financing and operational support and NFTDC for the metallurgical and technical expertise India's domestic mineral-processing base still lacks in several critical categories. What makes it notable isn't the structure -- joint ventures between private capital and a resource-rich country's state miner are a well-worn template globally -- but the fact that no Indian private company had done it before. Government-to-government deals and public-sector exploration have carried nearly the entire weight of India's mineral-security strategy up to now.
That single deal sits inside a broader, quieter trend: Indian private miners and diaspora entrepreneurs pursuing graphite, cobalt, lithium, tin, tantalum and tungsten across Africa through exploration ventures and local partnerships, well outside the headline-grabbing bilateral summits. This is the kind of activity that rarely produces a single dramatic announcement -- it accumulates deal by deal, mine stake by mine stake -- which is exactly why it's easy to miss relative to a Modi-Putin summit or a BRICS declaration, even though the cumulative effect on India's actual mineral access could end up mattering just as much.
The domestic numbers suggest the private channel isn't operating in isolation from the government program -- it's running in parallel with it. Fifty-six of 88 critical and strategic mineral blocks auctioned domestically, a 63%-plus success rate, is a reasonable clearing rate for a program still finding its footing. Forty-six exploration projects approved in FY2024-25 through 11 notified private exploration agencies, with 31 of those specifically critical-mineral projects, shows the private-exploration pathway India built alongside the auction system is actually being used, not just legislated into existence.
What this adds up to is optionality. A country trying to cut import dependence on a handful of Chinese-dominated supply chains benefits from having more than one mechanism working at once -- government auctions for domestic deposits, state-to-state pacts for overseas access, and now private capital willing to take on the risk of securing mines abroad directly. No single track is fast enough on its own to close India's mineral gap quickly; having three tracks running simultaneously, even at different speeds, is a more resilient bet than depending on any one of them to deliver alone.
Why it matters
India imports the overwhelming majority of the lithium, cobalt, graphite and rare-earth materials its EV and electronics ambitions depend on, and government-to-government deals alone move slowly relative to how fast that demand is growing. A private company willing to put its own capital behind securing mines overseas -- rather than waiting for a ministry to negotiate access -- is a genuinely different kind of supply-security lever, one that scales with how many private firms follow Midwest's example rather than with how many summits get scheduled.
Our read
Outlook: neutral. This is a structural, longer-horizon supply-chain development rather than a near-term price catalyst -- a single MoU and a broader private-sector trend affect India's future mineral supply security, not current spot prices for any specific metal.
What to watch
- Whether other private Indian mining companies follow Midwest Ltd's lead into overseas exploration and mine-stake acquisitions
- Progress on India's domestic critical-mineral block auctions beyond the current 56-of-88 mark
- Further private-exploration-agency project approvals as a gauge of whether FY2024-25's growth continues into the current fiscal year
For information only, not investment advice.
Neodymium price in India
metalscost.com India reference price as of 2026-10-03.
Detailed analysis
Timeline
- 2026-06-01: India's government had auctioned 56 of 88 critical and strategic mineral blocks, a success rate above 63%.
- 2026-09-15: Midwest Ltd, alongside Midwest Energy Ltd and NFTDC, signed an MoU with Indonesia's PERMINAS, becoming the first private Indian company to secure mining assets abroad.
Supply Drivers
Midwest Ltd's MoU with Indonesia's PERMINAS, and the broader push by Indian private miners into African graphite, cobalt, lithium, tin, tantalum and tungsten assets, represent a new, non-government supply channel for critical minerals India currently imports almost entirely.
Government Policies
India's government has auctioned 56 of 88 critical and strategic mineral blocks (over 63% success rate) as of June 2026, and approved 46 exploration projects -- 31 of them critical-mineral-specific -- through 11 notified private exploration agencies in FY2024-25, the domestic policy framework this private overseas push is building on top of.
Geopolitical Risks
India's reliance on imports for lithium, cobalt, graphite and rare earths, in a market China dominates on processing, is the underlying vulnerability driving both the government's auction program and this new private-sector push into overseas mining assets.
What could lift prices
- A private-sector channel for overseas mineral access adds genuine optionality to India's supply-security strategy, since it can move at commercial speed rather than the pace of government-to-government negotiation.
- The domestic auction program's 63%-plus success rate and the FY2024-25 growth in private exploration projects (46 approved, 31 critical-mineral-specific) show the underlying policy framework is functioning, not just announced.
What could weigh on prices
- A single MoU from one private company is a long way from a diversified, functioning supply chain -- most of the metals India needs (lithium, cobalt, rare earths) still come overwhelmingly through Chinese-dominated processing regardless of where the raw ore is mined.
Country impact
| Country | Impact | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| India | High | A private Indian company securing overseas mining assets for the first time adds a new, non-government channel to India's critical-minerals supply strategy, running alongside its domestic auction program and state-to-state deals. |
| Indonesia | Medium | State miner PERMINAS gains an Indian private-sector partner and potential investment through the Midwest Ltd MoU, part of Indonesia's broader role as a resource-rich partner in regional critical-minerals supply chains. |
Industry impact
| Industry | Effect | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Electric Vehicles | Positive | A new, private-sector-driven channel for securing lithium, cobalt and other battery-critical minerals abroad would reduce a key supply-chain risk for India's EV and battery manufacturing ambitions over time. |
| Mining | Positive | Midwest Ltd's overseas deal, and the broader trend of Indian private miners entering Africa, signals a maturing domestic mining sector willing to take on international exploration and development risk rather than relying solely on domestic deposits. |
Who gains, who loses
- Indian EV and electronics manufacturers: A growing, diversified set of overseas mineral supply channels -- government and now private -- improves the long-run odds of secure lithium, cobalt and rare-earth access for manufacturers currently dependent on imports.
Other ways this could play out
- If more private Indian miners follow Midwest Ltd's example into Indonesia, Africa or elsewhere, a genuinely diversified private-sector supply network could emerge over the next several years, reducing India's dependence on both China and on government-negotiated deals.
- If Midwest's deal remains an isolated case without broader private-sector follow-through, India's critical-minerals strategy would continue to rest primarily on the slower-moving government auction and diplomatic-deal tracks.
Historical comparison
- FY2024-25: 46 exploration projects involving 11 government-notified private exploration agencies were approved, including 31 focused specifically on critical minerals -- the domestic policy base this overseas private-sector push builds on.
Technical view
Price is trading above both its 20-period and 50-period moving averages, a bullish alignment.
Computed from metalscost.com's own stored price history.
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