The move is a part of a larger plan to achieve self-reliance in critical minerals under the National Critical Minerals Mission (NCMM).
Chairman and Managing Director of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), N Balram told CNBC-TV18 that studies by the government-owned Non-ferrous Materials Technology Development Centre (NFTDC) have found 1 kg of Scandium plus Strontium in 15 tons of clay in the Sathupalli and Ramagundam open-cast mines. The supply of both these elements is slated to begin from August from both these mines, he added.
Scandium is used in aircraft components, fuel cells and high-performance sports goods; meanwhile, Strontium has applications in alloys, ferrite ceramic magnets, medicines, vacuum systems, and cathode-ray tubes.
Amid supply chain concerns over the availability of critical minerals and REEs, Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal had earlier described China’s pause on REE exports as a wake-up call for the world. Last week, government sources told CNBC-TV18 that India is looking to hedge supply chain risks by exploring alternative sourcing destinations like Australia, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile.
Currently, China produces around 60% of the global supply of rare earth magnets, and processes around 90% of the supply, which also involves sourcing of raw materials from other countries. REEs and processed minerals are extensively used in heavy industries, robotics, batteries, and military equipment.
Government sources previously said that speedy output from the National Critical Minerals Mission (NCMM) along with recycling via a circular economy is being increasingly looked at to boost domestic availability.
Earlier this month, Union Minister of Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy held an inter-ministerial meeting with Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel HD Kumaraswamy and officials from the Ministries of Atomic Energy, Steel, Heavy Industries & Commerce. Deliberations were held on a wide range of aspects to secure supply chains for REEs and on strengthening the value chain from mining to refining to end use.
While China tops in the REE deposits at 44 million tonnes (MT), the US Geological Survey pegs India’s deposits at 6.9 MT, which is the 3rd largest in the world, next to Brazil. An EY report has indicated that India is host to over one-third of the global sand mineral deposits, which can be used for sourcing of REEs.
In addition to non-production linked incentives to support local industry that may be considered, India is also looking to augment the supply of critical minerals by subjecting all mineral waste to testing, including from the Petroleum sector, to extract whatever deposits of critical minerals are available. Earlier, CNBC-TV18 reported that India is evaluating ways to leverage REE production via the government-owned Indian Rare Earths (IREL).
This month onwards, all Indian mines have been mandated to conduct testing for critical minerals from their dumps. The move involves testing of overburden, waste dumping, tailings, and rejects, which are often regarded as mineral waste after the process of mining is completed. Earlier this year, India had mandated the declaration of existence of critical minerals even for minor mineral leases.
The move aimed at maximising exploration, identification, scientific extraction, and production of critical minerals had classified Barytes, Felspar, Mica and Quartz as major minerals. Until then, the leases of Quartz, Felspar, and Mica were granted as minor mineral leases, implying that leaseholders neither declared the existence of critical minerals nor extracted them, as their primary objective was to use them as minor minerals for construction, glass, and ceramic making, etc. Consequently, the critical minerals associated with these minerals were neither getting extracted nor reported.
