India holds 7.23 Mt REO reserves, Govt informs Rajya Sabha

India has approximately 7.23 million tonne (Mt) in-situ Rare Earth Elements Oxide (REO) contained in 13.15 Mt monazite (a mineral of Thorium) occurring in the coastal beach, teri / red sand and inland alluvium in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Maharashtra, the Government informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday (July 24).

482.6 Mt resources of REE

The Minister of State (MoS) Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Prime Minister’s Office, Jitendra Singh, further stated in a written reply that the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has 482.6 Mt of resources of REE ore at various cut-off grades in 34 exploration projects.

Singh further stated that in the last five years, India has exported 7 tonnes of rare earth minerals to Japan, adding that the Ministry of External Affairs is actively engaging with relevant stakeholders to alleviate the challenges arising from export restrictions on rare earth magnets imposed by certain countries.

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Bilateral and multilateral engagement

Singh stated that there have been continued engagements at the bilateral and multilateral levels to increase cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, including in rare earth minerals and related technologies.

“In the interest of developing bilateral cooperation with countries having rich mineral resources, the Ministry of Mines has entered into bilateral agreements with the Governments of a number of countries such as Australia, Argentina, Zambia, Peru, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Cote D’Ivoire and International organizations such as International Energy Agency (IEA),” he added.

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MoUs with Brazil, Dominican Republic

The MoS also said that the Ministry of Mines has initiated the process of entering into Government-to-Government (G2G) MoUs with Brazil and the Dominican Republic for developing cooperation in the field of Rare Earth Minerals and Critical Minerals.

“The broad objectives of these MoUs are to provide an overarching framework for cooperation in research, development and innovation in mining, with a particular focus on rare earth elements (REE) and critical minerals,” added the Minister.

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Policy reforms

Pointing out that critical minerals such as lithium, graphite, cobalt, titanium, rare earth elements etc. are demand intensive due to their strategic uses in various sectors, viz., electric vehicles, renewable energy and defence, the Union Minister said that the Ministry of Mines has undertaken significant steps including various policy reforms to ensure supply chain resilience for these critical sectors.

The reforms include an amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957 and omission of six minerals from the list of 12 atomic minerals, namely Lithium, Titanium, Beryl and beryllium bearing minerals, Niobium, Tantalum and Zirconium bearing minerals.