Industry Odisha Bureau, Jun 12: In a bid to curtail dependence on China, concerted efforts of India are on to develop rare earth processing facilities in Andhra Pradesh since the state emerges as a rare earth hub, and India’s leading industrial groups Reliance, Vedanta and Adani have reportedly evinced keenness in developing rare earth processing facilities in Andhra.
According to media reports, “The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has discovered that India’s overall rare earth ore resources stand at approximately 482.6 million tons, while Andhra Pradesh possesses around 211 million metric tons of beach sand mineral resources, including rare earths, spread across 16 identified coastal deposits.”
Thus, the Union Budget has reportedly “identified Andhra Pradesh among the four Indian states Odisha, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu (primarily known for their monazite deposits, which contain several rare earth elements), for developing corridors for mining, processing and magnet production.”
Reportedly, the Government of India (GoI) had “approved a Rs 73 billion programme to support rare earth magnet manufacturing”, while the state government of Andhra Pradesh reportedly “aims to attract nearly Rs 500 billion ($5.2 billion) in investments related to rare earths and titanium over the next decade.”
Media reports also stated that, “Besides having set an ambitious goal of securing $1 trillion in investment commitments by 2029 in order to make the state a major industrial and manufacturing destination, the Andhra Pradesh government has also been wooing global investors.”
Notably, this national strategy would “enable and ensure a domestic supply chain for rare earth mining, processing and magnet manufacturing—sectors crucial for electric vehicles, electronics, defense systems and renewable energy technologies.”
