Promising reserves of rare earth elements found in Singrauli coalfields: Govt

Promising reserves of rare earth elements (REEs) have been found in the Singrauli coalfields of Madhya Pradesh, Parliament was informed on Monday (July 28).

Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy said Coal India Ltd (CIL) has undertaken research and development projects related to REE found in coal mine waste.

Rare earth elements are a group of metallic elements like scandium and yttrium that are used in modern technologies such as clean energy, electronics, electric vehicles, and various other industrial applications.

Also read | Why do rare earth elements matter? Why does China have a hold on these?

REEs remain at the centre of global supply tensions. China still dominates refining, processing about 90% of global output due to aggressive industrial policy and state-backed subsidies. Domestic electronics firms have been raising alarms about disruptions from China’s export curbs.

Economic extraction

"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.

However, economic extraction of REEs is subject to technical advancement and economies of scale.

Results from the assessment of REE and other economic resources from the North Eastern Region Coalfield indicate that total REE is low, but heavy REE contents are relatively high, he explained.

Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) has signed MoUs with the Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT), Bhubaneswar; Non-Ferrous Materials Technology Development Centre (NFTDC), Hyderabad; and IIT, Hyderabad for research in this field, Reddy said.