In a bid to safeguard rare earth supplies for domestic needs amid growing crisis as a result of the Chinese supply curbs, India has asked state-run miner IREL to suspend a 13-year-old agreement on rare earth exports to Japan. Given the global uncertainty, the focus has shifted on IREL in the Indian context. Let’s take a look at the business dynamics of this unlisted Govt run entity, IREL.
IREL: What’s the core business?
Well, formerly known as Indian Rare Earths Limited, IREL is an unlisted ‘Miniratna’ company. The company aims to grow its heavy minerals and rare earths business by expanding not just the mining capabilities but also the mineral processing, and rare earth refining asset base domestically and globally.
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This is a crucial aspect. China,at the moment, has a huge negotiation advantage globally, because the country processes nearly 90% of the global rare earths. Hence the supply curb from there is snowballing into a key crisis everywhere, including India
IREL, interestingly, has reached a new milestone by starting the production of permanent magnets and rare earth metals.These facilities have been set up at the Rare Earth Permanent Magnet (REPM) plant in Vishakhapatnam and the Rare Earth & Titanium Theme Park (RETTP) in Bhopal. This marks a significant expansion in its product range globally.
IREL: Key metal projects to watch out for
IREL has commenced production of Samarium-Cobalt (Sm-Co) magnets. These magnets are meant for use in atomic energy, defence, and space applications. They have already been handed over to BARC and DMRL for testing.
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Interestingly the other important rare earth metals that the company has launched production include Cerium and Lanthanum. Special alloys using these as well as Neodymium facility for recovery of Rare Earths from end of life Magnets are seen as India’s crucial steps towards playing a greater role in the global rare earth economy.
IREL reports record mineral output
In fact, the latest reports on the IREL website indicates that the company has posted its highest-ever mineral output at 5.31 lakh tonne,
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