BharatNotes What is Rare Earth Elements?
Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are a group of 17 metallic elements — the 15 lanthanides (lanthanum to lutetium) together with scandium and yttrium, which share similar chemical properties and occur in the same ore deposits. The term is misleading: most REEs are reasonably abundant in the crust, but they are seldom found in concentrations dense enough to mine profitably, and separating the chemically near-identical elements is technically difficult and pollution-intensive.
REEs are split into Light Rare Earth Elements (LREEs) — lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium — and Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREEs) such as dysprosium, terbium, yttrium and lutetium. HREEs are scarcer and strategically more valuable.
Why They Matter
REEs are the backbone of the clean-energy and high-tech economy. NdFeB permanent magnets (using neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium) power electric-vehicle motors, wind-turbine generators, hard drives, robotics and precision-guided defence systems. Other REEs are used in catalysts, phosphors, lasers, MRI machines and glass polishing. Global demand for magnet REEs has roughly doubled since 2015 and is projected to grow further by 2030 (IEA, 2025).
Global Status (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025)
| Country | Reserves (million tonnes REO) | Share |
|---|---|---|
| China | 44.0 | ~48% |
| Brazil | 21.0 | ~23% |
| India | 6.9 | ~7.5% |
| Australia | 5.7 | ~6% |
| World total | ~91.9 | 100% |
China also accounted for about 69% of world mine production (world total ~390,000 tonnes of rare-earth oxide in 2024) and over 90% of refining and magnet manufacturing (USGS 2025; IEA). This near-monopoly turned into a supply shock when China imposed export-licensing controls on seven heavy REEs in April 2025, with further restrictions announced in October 2025 (China Ministry of Commerce; IEA).
India's Position and Response
India's primary REE source is monazite, found in coastal beach-sand placer deposits in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh; the Atomic Minerals Directorate has estimated about 11.93 million tonnes of monazite resources. IREL (India) Limited, under the Department of Atomic Energy, handles monazite mining and processing. Despite the world's third-largest reserves, India's output is under 1% of global supply.
To close this gap, the Cabinet approved the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) in January 2025 — a seven-year programme (2024-25 to 2030-31) with a government outlay of ₹16,300 crore plus expected PSU investment of ₹18,000 crore (PIB, Jan 2025). A Production Linked Incentive scheme for rare-earth magnets (₹7,350 crore) was also announced in 2025 to build domestic magnet manufacturing.
UPSC Angle
Treat REEs as a critical-mineral-security case study: link reserves vs production, China's value-chain dominance, beach-sand monazite geography, and India's NCMM and resource diplomacy. Do not confuse "rare earths" (scarce concentration) with genuine scarcity — most are crustally abundant.
