Conservation of Rare Earth Minerals

Context

The Government of India has directed state-run mining company Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) to stop export of rare earth minerals (REM) to Japan.

About Rare Earth Minerals

• These minerals are compounds made of rare earth elements. These rare earth elements are a group of 17 chemical elements.
• These include 15 lanthanide series elements (lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium) and two other elements scandium and yttrium.
• These elements are important in high technology industries due to their unique magnetic, electrical, and optical properties.

About Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL)

• It is a public sector undertaking under the Government of India engaged in mining, processing and refining of rare earth elements.
• It was established in 1950 and mainly supplies materials for the nuclear energy and defence sectors.
• It has a rare earth mineral extraction plant in Odisha and a refining unit in Kerala.
• It supplies rare earth materials in domestic and international markets.

Recent Demand of Indian Government

• The Government of India has demanded IREL to suspend the export of rare earth materials to Japan and ensure domestic supply of these materials.
  • For this, the India-Japan Agreement (2012) will have to be suspended.
• This can help in the effort to reduce dependence on China.
• In the financial year 2024-25, India imported 53,748 metric tonnes of rare earth elements, which came mainly from China.
• India is taking steps in this direction to increase its mining capacity and develop domestic processing capacity.

India-Japan Agreement (2012)

• In the year 2012, a bilateral agreement was signed between India and Japan, under which IREL started exporting rare earth materials to Japan in collaboration with Toyota Tsusho of Japan.
• Under this agreement, IREL exported 1,000 metric tonnes of rare earth minerals to Japan in the year 2024, which is one-third of the total mining (2,900 tonnes).
• This agreement has become strategically challenging for India as India is exporting its material due to lack of domestic processing capacity.

Demand for REM in India

• Electric vehicle (EV) industry: Elements like neodymium are essential for manufacturing magnets in EV motors.
• Renewable energy: Rare earth elements are used in wind turbines and solar power equipment.
• Defence and nuclear energy: These materials are important for missiles, radars and nuclear reactors.
• Medical and high-tech sector: Used in MRI machines and other equipment.

Challenges

• Lack of domestic processing capacity
• Excessive dependence on China
• Delays in mining projects
• Lack of technology and infrastructure

Way forward

• Develop domestic processing capacity
• Invest in advanced mining and processing techniques
• Explore alternative supply sources while balancing collaboration with friendly countries like Japan
• Speed ​​up the mining clearance process and involve the private sector
• Ensure environmental standards in mining and processing

Conclusion

• This move by the Indian government is significant towards conserving rare earth elements and increasing indigenous production capacity. This can be a positive step to reduce dependence on China and meet the demand of domestic industries, provided it is realised with the right policy, investment and global partnerships.