Indian Rare Earths Production Capacity and Business Overview

India has a significant rare earths production capacity, with the country's rare earths reserves estimated to be around 6.9 million tonnes.

The country's rare earths production is dominated by the Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL), a public sector undertaking under the Department of Atomic Energy.

IREL has a production capacity of 2,500 tonnes per year, with a major focus on producing dysprosium, neodymium, and praseodymium.

These rare earths are essential for various industries, including electronics, renewable energy, and defense.

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India has a significant presence in the global rare earths market, with several facilities scattered across the country.

The Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) is a major player in this sector, with its headquarters in Mumbai.

IREL operates several rare earths facilities, including the Mumbai plant, the Bhabhar plant, and the Tuticorin plant.

The Mumbai plant is a major facility that produces a range of rare earths products, including monazite, xenotime, and bastnasite.

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The Bhabhar plant, located in the state of Gujarat, is another key facility that produces rare earths concentrates.

Tuticorin, a port city in the state of Tamil Nadu, is home to a rare earths processing facility that exports rare earths products to various countries.

India's rare earths facilities are capable of producing a range of rare earths products, including neodymium, dysprosium, and cerium.

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Indian Rare Earths has made significant strides in increasing its production capacity.

The OSCOM plant has undergone a capacity expansion, resulting in an increase from 2.8 lakh tpa to 6.2 lakh tpa of Ilmenite and associated minerals.

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Indian Rare Earths has been actively involved in various research and development projects to improve the extraction and processing of rare earth elements. One notable project is the Augmentation of PREE solvent extraction test facility at RED.

The company has also developed a pilot-scale production for nanosize rare earth phosphates and explored their potential industrial application areas. This project has shown promising results and could lead to new opportunities for the company.

In addition, Indian Rare Earths has designed and developed environmentally secure rare earth based colorants, which is a significant step towards reducing the environmental impact of the industry. The company has also set up a pilot plant to produce nano titania from ilmenite, which is a key component in the production of high-quality pigments.

Indian Rare Earths has also been working on the development of cerium oxide based nano materials for applications as Chemical-Mechanical Planarisation/Polishing (CMP) slurry. This project has the potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the CMP process.

The company has also successfully developed and demonstrated column flotation technology for the beneficiation of sillimanite, which is a significant achievement. This technology is now commercially operating with consistent recovery and grades at two of the company's plants.

Here is a list of some of the completed R&D projects:

These projects demonstrate Indian Rare Earths' commitment to innovation and sustainability in the extraction and processing of rare earth elements.

IREL has achieved its highest ever sales turnover and profit before tax (PBT) since its inception, with sales turnover standing at a whopping Rs 1462.05 crore.

The company's PBT stood at about Rs 700.00 crore, surpassing the previous year's record by 53.3 percent and 68.6 percent respectively. This significant growth is a testament to the company's success and efficiency.

IREL declared and paid a dividend of Rs.166.67 Crores out of the profit for the financial year 2021-22.

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IREL has achieved its highest ever sales turnover and profit before tax (PBT) since its inception, with a sales turnover of Rs 1462.05 crore and PBT of Rs 700.00 crore in FY 2021-22.

The company's PBT surpassed the previous year's record by a whopping 68.6 percent, showcasing a significant improvement in its financial performance.

IREL declared and paid a dividend of Rs.166.67 Crores out of the profit for the financial year 2021-22, demonstrating its commitment to sharing its success with its stakeholders.

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The total income of the company was Rs. 1536.30 crore, a substantial amount that reflects the company's growing revenue.

IREL's financial performance is a testament to its efficient operations and strategic decision-making, which have enabled it to achieve such remarkable results.

The company's highest ever sales turnover and PBT are a significant achievement, and it will be interesting to see how it builds on this momentum in the future.

In June 2025, the Indian government asked IREL to suspend a 13-year-old rare earth export agreement with Japan. This decision was made to safeguard supplies for India's domestic uses.

The country is seeking to reduce its dependence on Chinese rare earth imports. This shift in strategy is a significant move for India's business and finance sector.

IREL is a government-owned company of India, established in 1950. Its involvement in rare earth exports makes it a key player in India's non-renewable resource companies.

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IREL has collaborated with BARC and DMRL to develop a refining technique for extracting rare earth metal and rare earth alloy.

The technique is based on a laboratory scale process, which has been successful in extracting these valuable resources.

IREL has also collaborated with Toyotsu Rare Earths (India) to create a critical minerals supply chain.

The OSCOM plant has undergone significant capacity expansion, increasing its production of Ilmenite and associated minerals from 2.8 to 6.2 lakh tpa.

This expansion has enabled the plant to meet the growing demand for these minerals, which are used in various industrial applications. The plant's increased capacity has also helped IREL to become a major player in the production of heavy minerals.

The OSCOM plant is located at Chhatrapur, Odisha, and is part of IREL's largest division. The plant produces six heavy minerals, including Ilmenite, Rutile, Zircon, Monazite, Sillimanite, and Garnet.

Here's a breakdown of the minerals produced by the OSCOM plant:

The Monazite Processing Plant at OSCOM has also been operational since 2015, processing 10,000 tpa of Monazite to produce various rare earth chloride and tri-sodium phosphate products.

IREL extracts the rare earth metal and rare earth alloy using the refining technique based on laboratory scale process developed by BARC and DMRL.

IREL has collaborated with Toyotsu Rare Earths (India) to create a critical minerals supply chain.

Toyotsu Rare Earths (India) remarkets the rare earth oxides or carbonates like Lanthanum Oxide(LA2O3), Cerium Oxide(CEO2), Praseodymium Oxide(PR6O11), Neodymium Oxide(ND2O3), Praseodymium-Neodymium Oxide((PRND)2O3) and Cerium Carbonate (CE2(CO3)3) from IREL.

IREL suspended the agreement with Toyotsu Rare Earths (India) on 14 June 2025.

Indian Rare Earths has a clear address listed in their details.

IREL (India) Limited is a Government of India undertaking, specifically falling under the Department of Atomic Energy.

Their address is Plot No. 1207, ECIL Bldg, located on Veer Savarkar Marg.

Opposite to this building is where you can find the address.

IREL operates several production facilities across India, including the Rare Earths Division (RED) in Aluva, Kerala, which was made operational in 1952 for processing monazite.

The RED in Aluva has a capacity to produce high pure individual rare earth compounds of lanthanum and cerium in oxide and carbonate form, and that of neodymium-praseodymium, samarium, gadolinium, and yttrium in oxide and oxalate form, with more than 99% purity.

IREL also operates the Odisha Sand Complex (OSCOM) in Chhatrapur, Odisha, which is its largest division, and produces six heavy minerals, including ilmenite, rutile, zircon, monazite, sillimanite, and garnet.

The OSCOM produces 2,35,900 tpa of ilmenite and associated minerals, and has a facility to produce Zirflor in sizes (-300 and -200) in the zircon opacifier plant.

IREL's Manavalakurichi unit (MK) in Kanyakumari district has an annual production capacity of 91,200 tonnes per annum (tpa) of ilmenite and other associated minerals.

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The Rare Earths Division (RED) Aluva plant is located on the banks of Periyar River in Kerala, a distance of 12 km from the port city of Kochi and 15 km from Kochi International Airport.

It's been operational since 1952, initially processing monazite, and its capacity was increased by about three times.

The plant produces high-purity individual rare earth compounds of lanthanum and cerium in oxide and carbonate form, and neodymium-praseodymium, samarium, gadolinium, and yttrium in oxide and oxalate form, with more than 99% purity.

In 2012, the plant was refurbished to process mixed rare earth chlorides.

RED also produces strategic materials for the Department of Atomic Energy.

The plant's products are used in various applications, but the exact details are not specified in the provided article sections.

The Odisha Sand Complex (OSCOM) in Chhatrapur, Odisha, is IREL's largest division, commissioned to produce six heavy minerals, including ilmenite, rutile, zircon, monazite, sillimanite, and garnet.

IREL operates four units, including a corporate office in Mumbai and a unit in Manavalakurichi, Kanyakumari district, producing various value-added products.

The Monazite Processing Plant at Orissa was commissioned on May 1, 2015, to process 10,000 tpa of monazite, producing 11,220 tpa of rare earth chloride, 13,500 tpa of tri-sodium phosphate, and 26 tpa of NGADU.

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In 2013, the Gopalpur port shipped 7,500 metric tonnes of ilmenite from Orissa Sand Complex (OSCOM) to South Korea for the first time.

The Monazite deposit in Odisha contains rare earths like Lanthanum, Cerium, Praseodymium, and Neodymium, as well as Thorium, a "prescribed substance" under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.

IREL has set up a Rare Earth Extraction plant (REEP) at its unit OSCOM Odisha, producing mixed Rare Earth chloride (MRCL), Tri-sodium phosphate, and other products.

The MRCL produced from the REEP is processed at IREL's plant at Rare Earth Division (RED) in Aluva, Kerala, for producing separated High Pure Rare Earth (HPRE) Oxides/Compounds.

The Rare Earth Division (RED) in Aluva, Kerala, was made operational in 1952 for processing monazite, with its capacity increased by about three times.

The plant produces high-purity individual rare earth compounds of Lanthanum and Cerium in oxide and carbonate form, and that of Neodymium-Praseodymium, Samarium, Gadolinium, and Yttrium in oxide and oxalate form (with more than 99% Purity).

IREL commissioned its largest division, Odisha Sand Complex (OSCOM), at Chhatrapur, Odisha, which produces six heavy minerals and various value-added products.

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The Chavara Mineral Division has a capacity to produce 2,35,900 tpa of ilmenite and associated minerals, including rutile, zircon, and sillimanite.

The plant operates on an advanced modular design with state-of-the-art equipment in mineral separation and has a well-equipped quality control laboratory for quality assurance, certified for ISO 9001:2008, 14001:2004, and 18001:2007.

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