India turns to self-reliance as China curbs rare earth exports - can expansion plans bridge the gap?
India’s rare earth footprint spans coastlines, riverbeds and hard rock terrains, giving the country one of the more widely distributed resource bases globally. According to the government data, India hosts around 7-7.2 million tonnes of rare earth elements oxide (REO) contained within 13.15 million tonnes of monazite, occurring across coastal beach sands, teri and red sand belts, and inland alluvium in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Maharashtra. In addition, 1.29 MT of rare earths is located in hard rock formations in parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Despite this geological spread, India currently meets very little of its rare earth demand through local production, relying instead on imports - an imbalance that has come into focus as global supply chains tighten.
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