India’s sole rare-earths producer wants to boost its mining capacity by 400% in the coming decade to help the country lock in supplies of critical minerals for its clean-energy transition. State-owned IREL (India) Ltd. plans to mine 50 million tonnes of rare-earths-bearing ore annually by the end of 2032, up from the current 10 million tonnes, according to Chairman D. Singh. In contrast to the current capacity of 5,000 tonnes, that would enable it to manufacture 13,000 tonnes of refined rare earths annually.
India is battling with how to secure supply of commodities like rare earths and lithium that will be required in greater amounts as the world moves away from fossil fuels, just like other large nations. Concern over China's monopoly on commodities used in everything from electric cars to wind turbines is another result of geopolitical tensions. "In the future, the lack of these resources could prevent India from meeting its aspirations for sustainable energy," Singh said, pleading with officials to expedite the granting of
licences for the company's proposed new mines. India confronts many obstacles in developing a domestic rare earths industry, including a traditionally cautious approach to mine permitting, low ore quality, and comparatively underdeveloped downstream infrastructure. Due to a lack of mined ore, IREL's own refineries are only able to operate at 40% of capacity, he claimed. Despite having the fifth-largest reserves of rare earths in the world, India only produces a little amount of them, according to US government statistics.
China's hegemony In addition, Singh expressed the hope that the nation might increase its rare-earths downstream capacity, saying that this was crucial to China's domination of the global market. While India has the capacity for mining, processing, and refining, the middle and downstream portions of this industry are lacking, he claimed. IREL's expected output would require the construction of downstream factories, which would cost between 30 billion and 50 billion rupees ($365 million to $1.2 billion), he claimed.
The only private refiner at the time is Toyotsu Rare Earths India Pvt., a division of Toyota Tsusho Corp. of Japan, which uses concentrate provided by IREL, according to Singh. According to Singh, China's ore grades are frequently 100 times greater than those found in India, making India's ore quality a significant problem. According to him, this makes processing more difficult and expensive. There were no takers when IREL offered a few years ago for partners to build a downstream plant, despite some initial enthusiasm.
In order to produce the monazite that contains the rare earth elements and thorium needed in the nuclear industry, IREL, a division of India's Department of Atomic Energy, was founded in 1950. It currently has eight mines operating in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Odisha, and it plans to add three more leases over the next four years.
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