India’s clean-energy sprint, digital build-out and defence modernisation are fuelling a once-in-a-generation scramble for lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite & rare earths. Against this backdrop, Leading Global Critical Mineral Companies are mapping long-term positions in the subcontinent-partnering with state-run enterprises, wooing private conglomerates & helping to stand up local refining, processing & recycling capacity.

For domestic champions shortlisted among the Top Critical Mineral Companies in India, that international attention is both a catalyst and a competitive spur. And for investors tracking the Best Natural Resources Companies in India, the opportunity is no longer just upstream mining; it now spans the full value chain from exploration to anode/cathode and magnet manufacturing.

Why India is drawing critical-minerals capital now

Three forces are converging-

1. Demand certainty. India’s targets for renewable capacity, utility-scale storage, electric two-wheelers, and cars & grid-modernisation lock in multi-decade need for battery and magnet inputs.
2. Diversification urgency. OEMs and raw-material suppliers want supply chains that are resilient to single-country shocks, shipping bottlenecks and price spikes. India offers a vast market, a reforming logistics backbone & an increasingly assertive trade posture.
3. Policy momentum. Exploration incentives, production-linked schemes for cell and component manufacturing & friend-shoring diplomacy are tilting the calculus in favour of building here rather than merely selling here.

Leading Global Critical Mineral Companies in India (2025 snapshot)

As of 2025, a number of global and domestic players have taken visible positions in India’s critical mineral value chain. Below is a snapshot of some of the most prominent Leading Global Critical Mineral Companies (or global-scale firms) active in India, along with real data and developments-

Vedanta Group

Vedanta is perhaps the most high-profile name pivoting to critical minerals in India. Under its “Vedanta 2.0” agenda, it is reorienting itself as a leading critical minerals and technology company. Currently, about 70% of its revenue in generated from energy transition metals like zinc, silver, nickel, cobalt and rare earths. Vedanta Limited

• Vedanta’s substantial existing footprint in copper, aluminium, zinc and precious metals gives it scale, technical depth and access to capital markets. Wikipedia+2Vedanta Limited+2
• It is actively evaluating rare-earth integration to supplement its base-metal operations. Vedanta Limited

Because of its size, leadership in India’s non-ferrous sector & ambition to climb the clean-tech ladder, Vedanta is a textbook example of Leading Global Critical Mineral Companies placing big bets on India’s future. Vedanta currently has 10 critical mineral blocks to its name.

NMDC (National Mineral Development Corporation)

Though best known as India’s largest iron-ore miner, NMDC is actively exploring critical mineral acquisitions overseas to reposition for the energy transition.

• In 2025, NMDC inaugurated a new overseas office (in Dubai) to scout African, Australian and South American lithium, cobalt and copper assets.
• Its subsidiary, Legacy Iron Ore, has signed a lithium exploration deal with Australia’s Hancock Prospecting.

This strategic pivot demonstrates how a legacy miner is trying to rebrand itself among the Top Critical Mineral Companies in India by broadening its resource base.

Indian Rare Earths (IREL)

IREL (India) Limited is a government-owned enterprise specialising in rare-earth and associated minerals.

• IREL currently handles the extraction and refining of rare earth oxides (lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, praseodymium) from minerals like ilmenite, rutile and zircon.
• It had a tie-up with Toyotsu Rare Earths (India) for marketing rare-earth oxides and carbonates; however, that agreement was suspended in June 2025.

Though not a global giant in market share, IREL is a crucial piece of India’s rare-earth backbone & thus part of the cohort of Leading Global Critical Mineral Companies in the Indian domain.

Coal India Ltd

Coal India has been making news for its moves in the critical mineral space.

• In 2024, Coal India began exploring lithium blocks in Argentina (in partnership with a U.S. firm) to secure long-term lithium supply.
• The logic- diversify beyond thermal coal into energy metals, thereby aligning with India’s net-zero and energy transition ambitions.

While not traditionally known as a critical-minerals player, Coal India’s move reflects how legacy resource firms are trying to rebrand themselves as some of the Best Natural Resources Companies in India for the next industrial era.

Deccan Gold Mines (DGML)

DGML is emerging as one of India’s newer names in critical minerals and gold exploration.

• In 2025, the company announced India’s first-ever nickel–copper-platinum group sulphide (Ni-Cu-PGE) discovery in the Bhalukona-Jamnidih area, Chhattisgarh.
• Earlier, DGML had also announced overseas gold mining ventures (e.g., in Kyrgyzstan).

Its discovery of a sulphide deposit with nickel and PGE content puts it squarely on the map among the Top Critical Mineral Companies in India with global aspirations.

How global players are structuring their India bets

Leading Global Critical Mineral Companies are choosing flexible entry routes rather than a one-size-fits-all model-

• Joint ventures with Indian SOEs and private majors. This spread risk while accelerating permitting and local hiring. Such tie-ups often anchor offtake agreements for batteries, wind turbines and electronics. This is particularly relevant for the Top Critical Mineral Companies in India, which can leverage global process know-how and market access.
• Midstream first, mining later. Many are starting with processing plants-refining lithium salts, producing precursor cathode active material, or separating rare earths-before committing to hard-rock mines. The approach aligns with India’s growing demand for midstream inputs and reduces time to revenue for the Best Natural Resources Companies in India.
• Recycling and circularity. Battery-grade nickel, cobalt and lithium recovered from end-of-life cells can meaningfully supplement imports. Technology licensors are pairing with Indian recyclers to create domestic feedstock buffers.
• Technology-for-tonnes swaps. Proprietary flowsheets for low-grade ores, or chloride-route magnet rare-earth separation, are exchanged for long-term offtake and revenue-share structures.

Conclusion- from opportunity to advantage

India’s critical-minerals moment is here & it rewards those who move with discipline and partnership. The collaboration between seasoned global miners, processors and technology licensors on one side & agile Indian conglomerates and public enterprises on the other, can create a supply chain that is cleaner, shorter and more shock-proof. For the Top Critical Mineral Companies in India, aligning with world-class process know-how and patient capital is the shortest route to global relevance. For the Best Natural Resources Companies in India, the invitation is to climb the value ladder-owning not just ore, but also chemistry, components & circularity.

In the end, the winners will be the firms that invest early, execute consistently & treat India not merely as a market, but as a manufacturing and innovation base. That is why Leading Global Critical Mineral Companies are, quite rationally, betting big on India’s future.