New Delhi: State-run NLC India has said it is looking to source rare earth minerals from abroad after the coal and mines ministries have urged the company to ‘aggressively’ pursue the same. In an interaction with PTI, the company’s CMD Prasanna Kumar Motupalli has said that his company aims to produce one million metric tonnes of the minerals in the coming five years. ”We will be taking all the factors of socio-economic condition, stability in the respective countries, and then we will move forward,” he said.
India hasn’t bothered to actively mine or develop its expertise in mining rare earth minerals- crucial raw materials used to manufacture modern gadgets. They are critical to modern electronics, where their unique chemical and physical properties aid in reducing energy consumption and achieving thermal stability, amongst other uses.
Currently, China mines and processes 90% of the world’s rare earth minerals, giving it a large bargaining chip to beat the US’s trade sanctions. The explosion in demand for rare earth alloys and materials in several technologies has made manufacturers increasingly dependent on China for these materials.
India’s manufacturing capacities have been threatened due to China’s recent export curbs, pressing the need to secure supplies and develop processing capabilities at the earliest to hedge against these threats.
Presently, India mines just 1% of the rare earth minerals worldwide, and is 100% dependent on imports to meet most of its needs. State-run Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) recently suspended its decade-old agreement with Japan to export rare earths, after Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal urged the company to ramp up production for domestic demand.
