Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: ET
Context: Hyderabad-based National Geophysical Research Institute has found large deposits of 15 rare earth elements (REE) in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district.
| About Rare Earth Metal | Description |
| Definition | Rare Earth Metals are a set of 17 metallic elements, including the 15 lanthanides and scandium and yttrium. |
| Name | They are called “rare earth” because they occur in low concentrations of minerals and were difficult to extract from their oxide forms. |
| Properties | They have unique magnetic, luminescent, and electrochemical properties and are used in many modern technologies. They are all metals having many similar properties, and that often causes them to be found together in geologic deposits |
| India’s status | India has 6% of the world’s rare earth reserves, but it only produces 1% of global output and imports most of its needs from China |
| China’s Monopoly | China produces 60% of the world’s rare earth |
| Authority in India | Mining and processing of rare earth in India are concentrated in the hands of IREL (India) Limited, a PSU under the Department of Atomic Energy. |
| Related Steps Taken |
Globally: Multilateral Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) (est. 2022) by various countries (US, Canada, Australia, South Korea, EU, Japan, etc) (not India) to build robust critical minerals supply chains needed for climate objectives.
India: Amendment in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act in 2021 (no mine will be reserved for a particular end-use) |
