Mint Explainer: The significance of India's quest for rare earth elements

livemint.com:

Minerals containing rare earth elements have become some of the most prized resources globally as countries rush to develop semiconductor industries and transition to clean energy. The Indian government, too, is looking to increase domestic production of rare earth elements. Here’s a look at the state of the country’s rare earth reserves.

The Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), a unit of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), has found 13.07 million tonnes of in-situ monazite (55-60% of which comprises oxides of rare earth elements) along the coasts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, and in inland parts of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, according to a recent response by the DAE in parliament. Another 7.37 lakh tonnes of rare earth element oxides have been discovered in Ambadungar, Chhota Udepur district, Gujarat, and 36,945 in Bhatikhera, Barmer district, Rajasthan. About 2,000 tonnes of heavy mineral concentrate containing 2% xenotime, a phosphate mineral of yttrium and rare earth elements, has been discovered in riverine placer deposits in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

AMD is exploring coastal, inland and riverine areas of the country for heavy mineral resources, including monazite and xenotime. Since the sources of rare earth minerals in India are radioactive, IREL (formerly Indian Rare Earths Ltd), a unit of the DAE, has been tasked with producing rare earth minerals in India. It has established mining, beneficiation, processing and separation, and extraction capacities.

In June, the ministry of mines released a list of 33 minerals critical to the economy. The list also includes several rare earth elements. AMD is currently collecting