By Admin 
Rare Earth Elements: Whenever China is angry with any country, it stops or limits the supply of rare earths (REEs) there. Recently, China has also tightened the rules regarding export of rare earths. Under this, China has made licensing mandatory for the export of seven rare earths and finished magnets. Besides, an order has also been issued not to use them in the defense sector. Due to this decision of China, it has come into conflict with America.
What is rare earth?
Rare earth is actually a group of 17 minerals. They are used in making hi-tech products in various industries. From making smartphones to electric vehicles, radar systems, missiles, drones and even generating clean energy, they are used. These minerals, which seem very simple in appearance, are very effective in their effects.
The reserves of rare earth minerals in the whole world are about 130 million tonnes. Of these, China alone has the maximum of 44 million tonnes. Whereas, if we talk about India, it has reserves of about 6.9 million tonnes of rare earth, which is about 5 percent of the world’s total reserves. Although there is no dearth of rare earths in nature, but it is very difficult to extract them because they are found in mixed form, like many times these radioactive elements are found stuck with uranium.
Why is China dominant?
China extracts 3.48 lakh tonnes of rare earth minerals, which is about 70 percent of the global production. Whereas 90 percent of its processing work is also done in China. This is because China has such technology which can easily separate rare earths. In such a situation, rare earths extracted from other countries are also sent to China for processing.
In this way, China continues to dominate the world over rare earths. However, according to the IEA (International Energy Agency) report, by 2030, China’s share in rare earth mining is expected to decline from 69 percent to 51 percent and in refining from 90 percent to 76 percent. This trend reflects a broader international effort to diversify and balance the supply chain.
These minerals are found in rare earth
Cerium, neodymium, lanthanum, yttrium, scandium, praseodymium, samarium, gadolinium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, thulium, terbium, lutetium, promethium, holmium, ytterbium.
Efforts continue to end dependence on China
The amount of rare earth that India currently possesses is less than 1 percent at the global level. There are huge possibilities for the future in states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. The government is continuously promoting the detection, excavation and processing of rare earths in the country’s soil.
In this connection, the government had started the National Critical Chemical Mission in 2025. In the coming time, India can also import rare earths from countries like America and Australia. Demand for rare earths may increase by 300-700 percent by 2040. Preparations for this need to start now. Meanwhile, another good news is that government company IREL (India) Limited was removed from the US export control list. This is a big step, which opens doors for international cooperation for India.
Apart from this, IREL is also going to open a new facility in Visakhapatnam, where samarium-cobalt magnets will be produced. This will further help India in becoming self-reliant in technology. This magnet is very important for high-tech defense equipment.
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