State PSUs should partner with IREL for rare-earth mining and processing: NITI Aayog official

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], November 7 : India is taking major steps to strengthen its rare earth minerals sector as part of a seven-year national mission aimed at reducing dependence on imports and building a resilient supply chain via State PSUs, said R Saravanabhavan, Deputy Adviser (Minerals), Niti Aayog.
Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the CII Conference on 'Building Resilient Rare Earth Metal (REM) Supply Chains Through Technology Localization' in Chennai, Saravanabhavan said the National Critical Mineral Mission has been launched for 24 critical minerals, including rare earth elements.
"Already, IREL is there. IREL is a PSU of the Government of India. It's under DAE (Department of Atomic Energy). They are already doing a good job. So some state PSUs can join with IREL. They can sign MOUs, JVs, and then they can do it," he said.
Saravanabhavan said public sector undertakings (PSUs) are also working to extract rare earths from unconventional sources. "All PSUs now, you see, PSUs like Coal India, NLC, everybody they are working on the fly ash actually now. In the coal seams, they have a good amount of rare earths, actually. Even they are trying to extract rare earths from that," he said.
He explained that the Atomic Minerals Directorate is the sole agency authorized to identify rare materials. "Identifying the rare material is the job of the Atomic Minerals Directorate. So no other agencies will be empanelled because they are the custodians for that," he noted.
The official added that the government's focus is on building domestic capacity through the National Critical Mineral Mission, which will run until 2031. "It will take a little bit of time. Now, only we have rolled out, actually," he said. The mission aims to promote exploration, recycling, and technology localization across the mineral value chain.
On international collaboration, he emphasized that India remains open to partnerships without country-specific restrictions. "We cannot have any yardstick by which country to partner or which country not to partner. Our idea is to open the floor, actually. Whichever country they want to come and join hands with us, we are ready to take it forward," he said.
India is already working closely with Australia and exploring partnerships in geographies such as Argentina and Bolivia. "There is an entity called KABIL, a MECL, HCL and NALCO combined consortium; they are going to other geographies to take particular mines so that they can bring the minerals back to India," he added.
Saravanabhavan also underlined the importance of reducing import dependence by developing home-grown industries. "We have to nurture our industries here. We cannot be reliant on other countries for a long period. Slowly, we have to set our foot inside, so in the days to come, today we may hold 3 per cent, tomorrow, after 10 years, at least we should go up to 50 per cent. Import dependency should be reduced. That is the concept of our PM," he said.
He further highlighted growing collaboration between industries and research institutions. "The present CSR setup is very good, actually. They themselves come and open up the doors. Previously, you had to go to the government corridors. Now it is the vice versa which is happening," he said.
According to Saravanabhavan, the mission will continue to expand in stages and is designed to establish a strong foundation for India's critical mineral ecosystem. "Slowly, it will expand its wings. You cannot expect it in one or two years. Government is doing it tirelessly," he said.