RARE EARTH MATERIAL

Context

China bans export of rare earth material processing technologies.

Rare earth Material

1. Rare earth materials are a set of 17 metallic elements that have similar chemical properties and are often found together in nature.
2. China is the world’s leading producer an exporter of rare earth materials, accounting for more than 90% of the global supply.

Some of the rare earth elements are:

Scandium	Used in aerospace components, aluminium alloys, and fuel cells.
Yttrium	Used in lasers, phosphors, superconductors, and ceramics.
Lanthanum	Used in batteries, catalysts, optical fibers, and glass
Cerium	Used in polishing, catalysts, magnets, and glass.
Praseodymium	Used in magnets, lasers, and alloys.

India’s Status

1. India is the 5^th largest reserve of rare earth minerals in the world.
2. Major rare earth minerals found in India are ilmenite, sillimanite, garnet, zircon, monazite, and rutile. These minerals are collectively known as beach sand minerals (BSM).

• Monazite and thorium are the principal sources of rare earths in India

3. However, high-value rare earth elements such as dysprosium and terbium are not available in extractable quantities in Indian reserves already under exploitation.
4. IREL (India) Limited is a public sector undertaking under the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, and is the largest producer of beach sand minerals in the country.

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