Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy informed the Rajya Sabha on July 28 that promising reserves of rare earth elements (REEs) have been identified in the Singrauli coalfields of Madhya Pradesh. The discovery follows detailed research and appraisal conducted by Coal India Ltd (CIL).
REEs — including critical elements such as scandium and yttrium — are essential to clean energy technologies, electronics, electric vehicles, and various industrial applications.
According to Kishan Reddy, analysis of Gondwana sediments (coal, clay, shale, sandstone) from Singrauli revealed REE enrichment levels of 250 ppm in coal samples and 400 ppm in non-coal samples, indicating “promising” concentrations. However, he cautioned that commercial extraction would hinge on advancements in technology and cost-effective scalability.
In the North Eastern Region coalfields, while total REE concentration remains low, the proportion of heavy REEs is relatively higher, Reddy added. He also noted that domestic technology development is underway to extract these critical minerals from overburden layers in coalfields.
To drive this initiative, the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has signed MoUs with leading research institutions — the Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT) in Bhubaneswar, the Non-Ferrous Materials Technology Development Centre (NFTDC) in Hyderabad, and IIT Hyderabad. The project focuses on developing enrichment techniques using physical separation methods and ion-exchange resin-based extraction from non-coal strata and acid mine drainage.
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