The rare earth elements (REE) are a set of seventeen metallic elements. They are called ‘rare earth’ because earlier it was difficult to extract them from their oxides forms technologically.

They are an essential part of many high-tech devices. The 17 Rare Earths are cerium (Ce), dysprosium (Dy), erbium (Er), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), holmium (Ho), lanthanum (La), lutetium (Lu), neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm), scandium (Sc), terbium (Tb), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), and yttrium (Y).

Why are they important?

• Rare earth minerals are crucial to the manufacture of magnets used in industries of the future, such as wind turbines and electric cars.
• And they are already being used in consumer goods such as smartphones, computer screens and telescopic lenses.
• REEs are needed in high-temperature superconductivity, safe storage and transport of hydrogen for a post-hydrocarbon economy, reduce sulphur oxide emissions and hence it has abundant value.

India and its reserves

• With almost 7 million tonnes of REE reserve, India accounts for more than 5 per cent of global REE reserves, fifth largest in the world.
• In spite of rich reserves and an early start, India has not been able to develop the REE industry and its share in global REE market has remained negligible. Ironically, IREL, which was established to produce REE, never actually focused on REE production. Instead, IREL gave more importance to thorium and other minerals such as ilmenite, zircon, rutile etc. Consequently, for years, REE production in India remained stagnant at around 2,000 tonnes before increasing to 4,215 tonnes in 2018-19.
• Extremely low domestic supply of REE ensured that downstream REE industry virtually remained absent in India, forcing Indian manufacturers to rely on the imports of finished REE derivates from China to meet the booming domestic demand of consumer electronics, computing equipment, electric machinery, solar panels etc., leading to a massive increase in trade deficit.

India’s Current Policy on Rare Earths

• Exploration in India has been conducted by the Bureau of Mines and the Department of Atomic Energy. Mining and processing has been performed by some minor private players in the past, but is today concentrated in the hands of IREL (India) Limited, a Public Sector Undertaking under the Department of Atomic Energy.
• India has granted government corporations such as IREL a monopoly over the primary mineral that contains REEs: monazite beach sand, found in many coastal states. Processed minerals usually take the form of a rare earth oxide (REO), which then needs to be converted into a pure metal before it can be used to manufacture anything.
• IREL produces rare earth oxides (low-cost, low-reward “upstream processes”), selling these to foreign firms that extract the metals and manufacture end products (high-cost, high-reward “downstream processes”) elsewhere. 

Way forward

• Create a new Department for Rare Earths (DRE) under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, drawing on its exploration, exploitation, refining, and regulation capabilities
• DRE should oversee policy formulation and focus on attracting investment and promoting R&D, with its first move being to allow private sector companies to process beach sand minerals within appropriate environmental safeguards.
• To maximise the REE production
• DRE could secure access to REEs of strategic importance by offering viability gap funding to companies to set up facilities in the upstream sector. This could make Indian REOs globally competitive.
• Focus on downstream processes and applications, such as manufacturing rare earth magnets and batteries. This would require a focus on port infrastructure and ease of doing business measures to allow Indian manufacturers to import REOs from white-listed producers cheaply.
• Coordinate with other agencies to partner directly with groupings such as the Quad, building up a strategic reserve as a buffer against global supply crises.
• With adjustments to the existing policy, India could emerge as a rare earths supplier to the world and use these resources to power a high-end manufacturing economy geared to the needs of the 21st century.

How to structure

1. Give an intro about rare Earth Minerals
2. Explain the possibility of its exploration India- use maps
3. Suggest measures for its exploration
4. Conclude

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/a-rare-opportunity-for-india/article64863510.ece