Industry urges govt. to establish ‘India Rare Earths Mission’ to reduce reliance on China

Subject :Geography

In the news-

To counter India’s reliance on China for imports of critical rare earth minerals, industry has urged the government to encourage private sector mining in the sector and diversify sources of supply for these strategic raw materials.

India Rare Earths Mission-

CII has suggested to set up an ‘India Rare Earths Mission’, manned by professionals, like the India Semiconductor Mission and make their exploration a critical component of the Deep Ocean Mission plan of the government.
Though India has 6% of the world’s rare earth reserves, it only produces 1% of global output, and meets most of its requirements of such minerals from China.

‘Broad-base supply’

In 2018-19, for instance, 92% of rare earth metal imports by value and 97% by quantity were sourced from China.
CII has recommended the public sector firm Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL), administered by the Department of Atomic Energy, should be split into two entities.
While IREL primarily focuses on Thorium mining, the second entity could pursue other minerals.

Rare earth elements:

The 17 rare earth elements (REE) include the 15 Lanthanides (atomic numbers 57 — which is Lanthanum — to 71 in the periodic table) plus Scandium (atomic number 21) and Yttrium (39). REEs are classified as light RE elements (LREE) and heavy RE elements (HREE).
Some REEs are available in India — such as Lanthanum, Cerium, Neodymium, Praseodymium and Samarium, etc.
Others such as Dysprosium, Terbium, and Europium, which are classified as HREEs, are not available in Indian deposits in extractable quantities.
Hence, there is a dependence on countries such as China for HREEs, which is one of the leading producers of REEs, with an estimated 70 per cent share of the global production.

Why are these minerals important?

Minerals like Cobalt, Nickel, and Lithium are required for batteries used in electric vehicles.
REEs are an essential — although often tiny — component of more than 200 consumer products, including mobile phones, computer hard drives, electric and hybrid vehicles, semiconductors, flatscreen TVs and monitors, and high-end electronics.
India is seen as a late mover in attempts to enter the lithium value chain, coming at a time when EVs are predicted to be a sector ripe for disruption.
According to the plan, 80 percent of the country’s two- and three-wheeler fleet, 40 percent of buses, and 30 to 70 per cent of cars will be EVs by 2030.