India discovers rare earth in MP coalfields as China curbs squeeze industries: Minister

Promising reserves of rare earth elements have been found in the Singrauli coalfields of Madhya Pradesh, Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy told Parliament on Monday.

Rare earth elements (REE) are a group of metallic elements, including scandium and yttrium, widely used in clean energy technologies, electronics, electric vehicles and various industrial applications.

Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Reddy said that Coal India Ltd (CIL) has undertaken research and development projects linked to rare earth elements present in coal mine waste.

“Results from appraisal of Gondwana Sediments (coal, clay, shale, Sandstone) for Trace Elements & REE concentration in the Singrauli coalfield, indicate that REE are ‘promising’ in nature (with an enrichment of 250 ppm on a whole coal basis in coal samples and 400 ppm in non-coal samples),” the minister said.

He added that extracting REEs economically would depend on advances in technology and achieving economies of scale.

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Findings from the assessment of rare earth elements and other resources in the North Eastern Region Coalfield indicate that while the total REE content is low, the proportion of heavy REE is relatively high.Efforts are underway to develop indigenous technology for extracting critical minerals, including REE, from the overlying strata of coalfields in the northeast. The objective is to create an enrichment method for critical metals from non-coal strata using physical separation techniques, as well as a method to extract these metals from non-coal strata and acid mine drainage through ion-exchange resin.The minister said that Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has entered into memoranda of understanding with the Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT), Bhubaneswar; the Non-Ferrous Materials Technology Development Centre (NFTDC), Hyderabad; and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad to conduct research in this area.

India’s key industrial sectors, ranging from transport equipment to electronics, depend heavily on imports of rare earth elements, with China being the main supplier.

A recent analysis by the State Bank of India (SBI) suggested that continuing restrictions on Chinese rare earth exports could have a significant effect on domestic manufacturing. It said these curbs could influence local production capacity, hurt the export competitiveness of Indian industries that rely on these materials, and potentially affect the financial exposure of banks lending to these sectors.

Rare earth is a subset of critical minerals with wide applications in many emerging technologies. Critical minerals, including rare earth elements, are central to modern industrial production because of their unique physical and chemical properties, which help reduce energy consumption, enable miniaturisation and provide thermal stability in advanced manufacturing processes.

(with PTI inputs)

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