India’s rare earth hunt has a toxic waste problem

Officials and industry executives confirm that while the plan for manufacturers, who locally source rare earth oxides and process them into magnets, is being designed to cut import dependence, it is unlikely to carry new safeguards against any environmental fallout. Research shows each tonne of rare earth processed could generate thousands of tonnes of hazardous waste.

Miners and processors of rare earth will need to comply with the existing laws on waste management and pollution, but the scheme may not have additional provisions to curb the toxic waste problem, two officials told Mint.

The waste issue had been discussed during consultations on the scheme, said one of the above-mentioned officials, on the condition of anonymity. “The toxic waste issue did come up, but it is unlikely that the scheme will contain a special provision on that,” the official said.

A second official, also on the condition of anonymity, said the country’s existing waste management regulations and laws to reduce overall environmental impact from mining would be enough to protect citizens and the environment.

Queries emailed to the ministries of heavy industries and mines on the issue of toxic waste remained unanswered till press time.

The additional mining for rare earth oxides is itself likely to generate massive amounts of toxic waste.

“While there is a push for rare earth sourcing and mining in India, there needs to be a thought on the kind of toxic waste the mining generally produces, as it has always been a global concern. The thought is important as better, more sustainable options to rare earth magnets are available in the market now,” said an industry executive who was involved in discussions with the ministry of heavy industries on the development of supply chain of rare earth magnets and alternatives in India.

A 2014 analysis by The Guardian suggested that every tonne of rare earths processed would generate about 2,000 tonnes of toxic waste. More recent studies on the subject do not quantify the amount of toxic waste that may be generated, but confirm that exposure to rare earth elements, their ores, and to processing of these elements can have an adverse impact on human and environmental health.

Domain experts told Mint that the environmental fallout of rare earth mining and processing is one of the reasons why many nations either abandoned rare earth mining or stayed at an arm’s length from the sector a couple of decades ago, when China started work on rare earth elements.

“Placer deposits rich in monazite contain thorium, posing risks of radioactive contamination, while processing generates both chemical and radioactive residues,” said Rishabh Jain, senior programme lead, Council on Energy, Environment and Water. “The environmental footprint depends on three factors: the ore type being exploited, the processing flow sheet adopted, and the waste management practices in place.”

This is likely to put the focus of miners and processors of rare earths on complying with stringent environmental safeguards.

Some experts believe the guardrails will be built as the scheme gets going. “The amount of radioactive waste generated in rare earth mining is comparatively higher than in, say, iron ore mining, which is a key difference between rare earth mining and mining for other ores,” said Souvik Bhattacharjya, director of resource efficiency & governance, The Energy and Resources Institute. “Stricter scrutiny of environmental compliances and environmental impact assessments is likely once the incentive scheme is rolled out, as the government may use all its regulatory power to ensure that there is no threat to public health and environment in this.”

India has approximately 7.23 million tonnes of rare earth oxides, spread over coastal regions in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. These oxides are processed to make rare earth magnets that are used in strategic sectors such as semiconductors, automobiles, defence and renewable energy.

China controls about 60% of the world’s rare earth mining capacity, and about 90% of the world’s rare earth refining and processing capacity. An export control order issued by its government in April sent several industries across the globe into frenzy, scrambling for rare earth magnet stocks.

India’s automobile industry, responsible for about 7% of the country’s total economic output, sought relaxations from the government in domestic manufacturing norms for incentives, as entire assemblies of motors, which use rare earth magnets, would have to be imported instead of just the rare earth magnets.

Recent talks between India and China have signalled that the latter may restart supply of rare earth magnets in the coming days, but no public announcement has been made on this by either side so far.

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