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Published on Department of Atomic Energy (http://dae.nic.in)


Nuclear India

Published by the
Department of Atomic Energy
Government of India
Vol. 34/No. 7-8/Jan.-Feb. 2001

Dr. Anil Kakodkar has taken over charge as the Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and
Secretary to Government of India, Department of Atomic Energy, from Dr. R. Chidambaram who
retired on November 30, 2000.

Dr. Chidambaram served as Chairman, AEC for eight years. During this period the DAE
organizations have shown all round excellence, registered significant achievements and took long
strides in all their programmes. Five nuclear power reactors were synchronized to the grid making
the total number of power reactors under operation at 14 with an installed dapacity of 2720 MWe.
The Capacity factors of all the power plants have been continuously increasing and are better than
80% in the current financial year. Heavy Water Plants also have shown improved performance with
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a significant reduction in energy consumption. The Synchrotron Radiation Source INDUS-1 at the
Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore, became operational in 1999.

The new chairman, Dr. Anil Kakodkar was appointed Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
with effect from April 1, 1996 and belongs to the seventh batch of BARC Training School. He
played a key role in the design and construction of Dhruva reactor and is actively involved in the
programmes relating to augmentation of thorium utilization in the Indian nuclear power plants.

Both Dr. R. Chidambaram and Dr. Anil Kakodkar were associated with the first successful Peaceful
Nuclear Explosion Experiment conducted by India on March 18, 1974 at Pokhran. Both played a
key role in a series of five successful nuclear tests carried out during May 1998 again at Pokhran.

Dr. Anil Kakodkar, immediately after taking over as the Chairman, AEC, has identified the
following six Key Drivers for further development and implementation of the Indian Atomic
Energy Programme:

Nuclear Power Programme: Stage I


Higher Share for Nuclear Power:1.
2.
3.
4.

Competitive Capacity Addition.


Sustain and Improve Capacity Utilization.
Move towards Financing Capability through Internal Resource Generation.
Sustained Excellence in Safety Performance.

Nuclear Power Programme: Stage II


Commercial Demonstration of Fast Breeder Technology:1. Early setting up of Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) and associated Fuel Cycle Plants.
2. Advanced Fuel Cycle with Higher Breeding Gain.
Nuclear Power Programme: Stage III
Technology Demonstration for Large Scale Thorium Utilization:1. Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR).
2. Technology Road Map on Shaping the Third Stage.
Non-Power Appliactions:
Deployment Over Large Scale:1. Desalination of Water
2. Nuclear Agriculture
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3. Radiation Processing of Food, Industrial and Medical Products


4. Health Care and other Industrial Applications
Research and Development:

Broad based R&D in Nuclear Sciences and Technologies involving scientific groups within DAE
and outside including Universities.

Research Education Linkage:

Mutual strengthening of Education and Research in Nuclear Sciences and Technologies and allied
disciplines.

Indian Rare Earths Its Genesis and Growth


T. K. Mukherjee
Chairman & Managing Director,
Indian Rare Earths Ltd., Mumbai

India has large reserves of beach sand minerals such as ilmenite, rutile, zircon, monazite,
sillimanite and garnet the first four being categorized as prescribed substance for use in production
of atomic energy and related R&D activities. These reserves are mostly located in the coastal
stretches of peninsular India with the exception of few inland placer deposits. According to the
Beach Sand and Off Shore Investigation Group in the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Explorations
and Research who has so far surveyed 2088 kms against the target of 6000 kms of coastal tract,
the ilmenite reserve is estimated as high as 278 million tons (highest in the world), along with 13
million tons of rutile, 18 million tons of zircon, 7 million tons of monazite, 86 million tons of garnet
and 84 million tons of sillimanite (Table-1). These resources occur as beach washing deposits
between the high and low tide lines along the beach and also as inland extension of placer sands.

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T. K. Mukherjee, CMD Indian Rare Earths Ltd.

The discovery process for this huge Indian deposit was accidentally initiated in the year 1908 when
Herr Schomberg, a German chemist identified the presence of monazite in the sand remnants of
contaminants of coir imported from Kerala. Encouraged by the great demand in those days for
thorium oxide in gas mantle, Schomberg established the first plant at Manavalakurichi (MK) in 1910
for separation of monazite and later another plant at Chavara. Subsequent to the arrest of
Schomberg on charges of being a German spy during the first world war, both his plants at
Manavalakurichi and Chavara were closed down. The London Cosmopolitan Mineral Company
established in the year 1914 in London took over these plants and continued operations. In 1920,
Hopkins and Williams (H&W), yet another London based English Company started operation at MK
and Chavara.

The first export of ilmenite from Chavara took place in the year 1922 and the Indian ilmenite
maintained a virtual monopoly in the world market as basic raw material for titania pigment (white)
till 1940 when four plants belonging to Travancore Minerals Ltd. (TMC), Hopkins & William
Travancore Ltd. (H&W) and Fx Pereira & Sons (FXP) together exported as high as three hundred
thousand tons of ilmenite from Chavara. From a position of such a virtual monopoly in 1940, the
demand of Chavara ilmenite however, dwindled in subsequent two decades due to variety of
reasons like demand for better quality, labour unrest, difficulty in shipping, etc. Meanwhile the
unbridled export of monazite continued till 1947 when the Govt. of India realised the strategic
importance of the mineral and placed an embargo on its export. Around this time, to be precise on
August 18, 1950, Indian Rare Earths Ltd. (IREL) was incorporated as a private limited Company
under the Indian Companies Act, 1913, jointly owned by the Government of India and the then
Government of Travancore-Cochin.

The immediate objective of the new company was to setup a chemical plant for processing of
monazite for the recovery of thorium and uranium values in the form of concentrate and separate
all the rare earths as mixed Rare Earths (RE) chloride. Accordingly in 1952, IREL setup a Rare
Earth Plant at Alwaye, Cochin with an initial capacity of processing 1500 tpa of monazite based on
the technology provided by the Societe des Products Chemiques des Terres Rares (now Rhodia
Inc). The Company was also entrusted with the responsibility for setting up a Thorium Plant at
Trombay to convert a part of the thorium concentrate to pure thorium nitrate for its application in the
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area of gas mantle making. From 1955 to 1998, IREL operated this plant on behalf of the
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and supplied thorium nitrate to gas mantle industries and
nuclear grade thorium oxide for research and development work related to utilization of thorium in
the Indian nuclear energy programme. Only recently the plant has been closed as it has outlived its
life.

TABLE-1: Statewise Reserves of Ilmenite and other associated Heavy Minerals

Zone

State

Av.
Total
Heavy
Mineral
(%)

Reserves in Million Tonnes


Ilmenite

Rutile

Zircon

Monazite

Garnet

Sillimanite

Orissa &
Eastern Andhra
Pradesh

10-35

111

3.98

4.93

2.64

63.91

51.25

Tamil
Nadu

Tamil Nadu

7-39

87

4.46

7.63

1.34

21.52

18.78

Kerala

Kerala

7-64

75

4.85

5.22

1.13

0.97

12.09

Others

Maharashtra,
Bihar &
Bengal

0.20

0.47

1.44

1.74

TOTAL

278

13.49

18.25

6.55

86.40

83.86

Going back to early days of the Indian beach sand operation which is presently the main activity of
IREL, it is worthwhile to mention that out of the four plants those of TMC and H&W were closed
down between 1960 and 1963. The only unit that remained functional was FXP owned by Kerala
Government. The unit was later amalgamated with the Kerala Minerals & Metals Ltd. (KMML).
Meanwhile in 1963, shares of the State of Travancore-Cochin were handed over to the Govt. of
India and IREL became a full fledged Central Government Undertaking under DAE to initiate its
mining and mineral separation activities.

Between 1965 and 1967, IREL took over all the plants of TMC and H&W and started operating one
unit at Chavara, Kerala after suitable refurbishing and the other at Manavalakurichi (MK), Tamil
Nadu presently known as Mineral Divisions, Chavara and MK respectively for the production of six
heavy minerals like ilmenite, rutile, zircon, monazite, sillimanite and garnet.

The Chavara plant is based on the mineral deposit of 23 km long stretch of land in the belt of
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Neendakara and Kayamkulam which is well known as the richest and the single largest ilmenite
deposit in the country. The MK plant, situated 25 km north of Kanyakumari, exploits minerals from 8
km. stretch between Kadiapatnam and Colachel in the Midlam area.

The commercial activities of IREL at Chavara and MK during the early days essentially involved dry
mining of the beach washings followed by its pre-concentration with respect to its heavy minerals
by wet gravity separation equipment i.e. spirals. The concentrate containing around 90 to 95%
heavy minerals is dried and subjected to a series of mineral separation process to isolate the
constituent minerals from the concentrate taking advantage of their differences in specific gravity,
electrical and magnetic properties. According to simplified basic scheme practiced at MK and
Chavara plants, the dried concentrate is first subjected to high tension operation where the ilmenite
and rutile report as conducting fraction and the other minerals as non-conducting. The primary
conductings are then subjected to low intensity magnetic separation from which ilmenite and rutile
concentrates are produced. The ilmenite concentrate is further purified with respect to associated
minerals utilising high tension and magnetic separators. Rutile concentrate is similarly treated to
finished grade product. The primary non-conducting fraction is separately treated by high intensity
magnetic operation to generate monazite/garnet concentrate and zircon/sillimanite/quartz
concentrate. The monazite/garnet concentrate is once again processed in a combination of low and
high intensity magnetic separators as well as air tables to produce clean monazite and garnet rich
concentrate. The garnet rich concentrate is next processed through high tension seperators, high
intensity magnetic separators and sizing equipment to produce clean garnet. The zircon/sillimanite
concentrate on the other hand is treated in a separate circuit consisting of air tables, spirals, wet
tables as well as high tension and magnetic separators to produce clean zircon.

Total Sales & Exports by IREL

During 1965 to 86, the Company gradually raised its production capacities with respect to its
various products such as ilmenite, rutile, zircon, monazite and rare earth chloride to the level of
170000, 5800, 11000, 4000 and 4400 tons respectively. In addition to meeting the indigenous
demand for these minerals the company established itself as a dependable supplier of heavy
minerals in the international market.

During this period, IREL also got into value addition activities like grinding zircon to zirflour and Zr
based chemicals and separation of mixed RE chloride to individual RE salts through ion exchange
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and solvent extraction techniques. Rare Earths Division (RED) introduced a number of value added
materials in its product list like various grades of cerium oxide, light, medium and heavy rare earth
chloride and samarium oxide.

With the growing experience in the management of mineral sands industry as described above,
IREL decided to setup a major expansion project known as Orissa Sands Complex (OSCOM) with
capital outlay of Rs 135 crore, to exploit the large beach sand deposits of Orissa Sea Coasts. The
Complex was put into operation from 1986 onwards. According to the name plate capacities,
OSCOM was planned to produce 2,20,000 tons of ilmenite and associated minerals. Since the
ilmenite was lower in grade with respect to its TiO2 content, OSCOM was also incorporated with
two chemical units namely Synthetic Rutile Plant (SRP) and Acid Regeneration Plant (ARP) to
convert the entire amount of ilmenite to 100,000 tons of 92% grade synthetic rutile based on the
Benelite cyclic process. The process in brief consisted of reduction roasting of the raw ilmenite with
coal at temperatures in the range of 850 to 950oC followed by leaching with 20% HCl at about
140oC and 3 atmospheric pressure to preferentially remove iron oxide.

The leach liquor containing the dissolved iron value is treated at ARP to generate HCl for its recycle
to SRP. Unfortunately these two plants, SRP in particular never functioned properly as the various
hardwares could not withstand the highly corrosive conditions resulting in frequent failure.
Consequently the plant could not reach even 10% of its name plate capacity. Failure of SRP to add
value to ilmenite had downward cascading effect on the motivating force to achieve higher
production in the dredge and mineral separation plant. As a consequence, OSCOM operation,
instead of boosting production and elevating the profit margin of the company became a source of
significant loss. Consequently IREL could neither service the government loan nor the interest and
had to apply for moratorium every year. Finally in 1997, commercial operation of SRP was
altogether stopped with an intention of arresting the loss and modifying the existing process so that
the low TiO2 recovery of 60% which was responsible for high variable cost of production could be
improved. Simultaneously all out effort was made to enhance mineral production activities as
OSCOM ilmenite became well accepted the worldover as raw material for the production of titania
slag and pig iron as well as sulphate grade (anatase) pigment.

As mineral production at OSCOM has picked up significantly in recent years, it is expected that by
year 2000-01, 90% of its name plate capacity will be easily achieved. While value addition activities
of IREL with respect to its major mineral product ilmenite has not so far met with much success
slow but steady advance is being made on value addition on rare earths in the form of wide range
of pure salts of individual rare earths. Over the years the plant of RED has been equipped with
various facilities including large chain of mixer-settler units which are so essential for large scale
separation of chemically similar rare earths by solvent extraction. Setting up of plants such as
HERO (Heavy Rare Earth Oxide) and PRYNCE (Praseodymium, Yttrium, Neodymium and Cerium)
which fractionate the composite rare earth chloride into light, medium and heavy rare earth bearing
salts as well as produce pure salts of Nd, Pr and La are typical examples of IRELs effort to add
value to its products.

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A Dredge and Wet Concentrator (DWC) in operation at OSCOM

The brief account given indicates how IREL by late nineties have successfully emerged as a
reliable producer and supplier of heavy minerals and rare earth chemicals in the national and
international market. The disturbing trend in the last decade on the other hand, has been the
stagnancy of production of ilmenite and associated minerals. IREL is indeed concerned about this
scenario as well as about the upcoming challenge to be faced as it has lost its protection with the
opening up of the beach sand minerals industry to all wholly owned Indian companies according to
the Government of Indias new policy on exploitation of beach sand minerals notified during
October 1998.

Export Awards Bagged by IREL during the last 5 years:


1. CAPEXIL special Export Awards (Proc.Minerals Group) 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99,
1999-2000.
2. Orissa State Export Award 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98.
3. CAPEXIL special Export Awards (Paint & Raw Material Group) 1995-96.
The performance of the company during 1999-00 has been fortunately outstanding with ilmenite
production (Table-2), sales turn over foreign exchange earned and profit before tax all touching
record figures. The company has therefore made a confident entry to the new millennium with the
OSCOM unit poised to make profit for the first time and RED capturing back its market share of
rare earth products. The company is also actively pursuing with Government of India for getting its
financial restructuring proposal approved. Such an approval would go a long way in improving the
balance sheet of the company significantly and executing its expansion plan with respect to its
three mineral divisions. Simultaneously IREL is also pursuing a number of joint venture proposals
with both Indian and foreign companies to exploit new deposits and adding value to ilmenite.

TABLE-2: Major Production Data of IREL during 1999-2000 (Qty. in ton)


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PRODUCT

CHAVARA

MK

Ilmenite

126183

Monazite

RED

TOTAL

76354 175008

377545

1654

1654

Zircon

13620

4765

3154

21539

Rutile

8943

2616

5442

17001

Sillimanite

9595

4873

14468

Zirflor

4920

4920

Brown Ilmenite 745

745

Garnet

9136

11433

20569

Zir. Chemicals -

159

159

R.E.Chloride

2580 2580

TSP

2580 2580

R.E.Fluoride

114

114

Cerium Oxide

81

81

Ce Hydrate

66

66

Nd-Oxide

Did. Carbonate -

46

46

OSCOM

Mineral Sand Industry Present scenario & future options


S. Sivasubramanian
Director (Technical),
Indian Rare Earths Ltd., Mumbai

The Status:

The current world production capacity of ilmenite and other titanium feed-stocks for production of
titanium oxide pigment, titanium metal, welding electrodes, etc. is around 70 lakh million tons per
annum (tpa). Approximately half of this is from beach sands and the balance from ilmenite rocks
mostly found in Canada and Norway. In view of the limited supply of natural rutile its share of
consumption in pigment production is rather small and 55% of its total availability of about 5 lakh
tpa is used in the non-pigment applications pre-dominantly in the production of welding rod and
titanium metal. The present production capacity of pigment in the world is just above 40 lakh tpa.
North America is the largest producer with 37% of the global capacity. Europe with 32% capacity is
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the second largest producer and Asia-Pacific region with 21% capacity is the third. The balance
10% is distributed among the rest of the world.

In India, the installed production capacity for ilmenite is 4.75 lakh tpa and the production of ilmenite
and rutile during 1997-98 was over 3 lakh and 13,000 tons respectively. There are four synthetic
rutile plants in the country belonging to Indian Rare Earths Ltd., Kerala Minerals & Metals Ltd.,
DCW Ltd. and Cochin Minerals & Rutiles Ltd., all of which operate on the Benelite/Wachang
process. The total synthetic rutile production during 1999-00 was about 60,000 tons, more than half
of which was exported. There are four pigment producing plants in the country, three based on
sulphate process and one based on chloride process with a total production of about 30,000 tons in
1999-00.

Mineral Reserves:

The occurrence of the mineral deposits in India can be broadly divided into four zones viz.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Eastern Zone: Covering States of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.


Tamil Nadu Zone.
Kerala Zone and
Others: Covering small deposits also occurring in the coastal Maharashtra and inland placers
in Bihar and West Bengal.

The Heavy mineral content in Indian deposits by and large ranges between 10-50%. Within this,
the ilmenite content (which is the dominant constituent) varies from zone to zone.

Optimal Exploitation of Heavy Mineral Resources:

Although Indian reserves are largest in the world exploitation of a substantial part of this resource is
economically unviable at present. Examining the exploitation level in other countries having similar
resources, it is observed that Production to Reserve Ratio (PRR) in our country is 0.001 which is
relatively very low. This indicates that our large reserves are not being exploited at an optimum
level. At this rate the reserves are likely to remain unexploited for a very long period.

Policy on Exploitation of Beach Sand Minerals:

Considering the low exploitation ratio of the reserves, the need for faster economic development,
the demand for these minerals and their value added products in the domestic as well as
international market, high capital requirement for greenfield project, etc. The Government of India
promulgated a policy on October 6, 1998 allowing private sector participation including foreign
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direct investment in the beach sand mineral industry. The policy aims at maximization of value
addition to the raw materials within the country, upgradation of existing proven technologies,
attracting funds and new technology, bringing regional balance and regulating the rate of
exploitation.

PRYNCE drying and calcination system

Future Plans of IREL:

In the light of this policy and to cope with the changing scenario, IREL is adopting a two pronged
strategy viz.
1. Consolidation & expansion of existing operation and
2. Joint venture for value addition and new production facilities.
Expansion of existing capacity:

IREL has initiated action to nearly double its existing capacity for production of ilmenite and
associated minerals. The intention is to reach a production level of 8 lakh tons of ilmenite by the
year 2005, so that IREL could be a sizable supplier in the market.

Joint venture proposals:

In respect of joint venture, IREL has made following arrangements:


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1. A joint venture agreement has been executed with Austpac Resources NL, Australia, subject
to approval of the Government of India, for setting up a 10,000 tpa Synthetic Rutile Plant at
Orissa using the OSCOM ilmenite. This will be based on the proprietory process developed
by Austpac. Consequent on the success of this demonstration plant, IREL is proposing to
enter into MOU involving Austpac Resources and Ticor Ltd., Australia for setting up further
100,000 tpa SR plant at Orissa using the OSCOM ilmenite and/or green field project involving
mining, mineral separation and value addition to ilmenite.
2. An MOU was executed with Saraf Agencies Ltd., Calcutta, to setup a 100,000 tpy SR plant
using the SLRN Lurgi/Becher process in which Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha, Japan, will also be a
partner. Subject to an investment decision and approval of the Government of India, a joint
venture agreement would be finalized for proceeding with the project.
3. An MOU was executed with Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation, Hyderabad
and National Mineral Development Corporation, Hyderabad for exploiting the beach sand
deposits of Bhimilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh near Vizag. The project envisages setting up
mining & mineral separation plant for 100,000 tpa ilmenite and associated minerals and a
value addition plant for ilmenite.
4. An MOU has been entered into with WSIL Mineral Sands India Pvt. Ltd. for exploiting the
Kudiraimozhi teri deposit in Chidambaranar District of Tamil Nadu. The project involves
foreign direct investment by Ausind Sands Ltd., Mauritius, a subsidiary of Mineral Deposits
Ltd., Australia.
5. An agreement has been entered into to get technical assistance from Showa Denko K.K.,
Japan, for setting up Neodymium metal production facility at Rare Earth Division.
Conclusion:

IREL is fully seized of the changing environment and is geared up to consolidate and retain its
predominant position in the mineral sands industry.

Production of Neodymium at PRYNCE Plant


V. R. Nair
General Manager (Production and R&D)
Rare EarthsDivision, IREL, Udyogamandal, Kerala

For nearly four decades the Rare Earths Division (RED) of the Indian Rare Earths Limited (IRE)
has been in the forefront producing and supplying world class rare earth materials to the
indigenous as well as international market. Located at Udyogamandal near Kochi in Kerala amidst
picturesque surroundings this ISO 9002 company boasts of a wide range of products matching the
quality of materials required by the international markets. The Division is committed to process rare
earth materials and supply rare earth compounds and by products of consistent quality striving to
maximise customer satisfaction. To meet the challenges of a competitive market, RED continously
reviews its product mix and plans its market and production strategies accordingly.

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India is blessed with large resources of rare earths. The rare earth reserves of India is estimated to
be 2.7 million tons. (Fig.1)

As was customary (upto 1970) with most of the rare earth mineral processing industries in the
world which were much older than ours, RED too engaged itself more or less exclusively in the
production and marketing of mixed rare earths chloride from monazite. IRE continued with this
activity with only minor deviation till nearly the end of 1980s. The high technology applications of
individual rare earth compounds and metals changed the face of rare earth industry after 1970.
Recognising the potential market earnings of individual rare earths, leading rare earth producers
like Rhodia (France), Molycorp (USA), etc., went into massive and rapid diversification projects and
reaped sizable benefits. Peoples Republic of China, taking advantage of its enormous mineral
resources stepped up production to such an extent that today they virtually control the world
market.

After the entry of China in the international market for rare earths, RED which was mainly
dependent on the international market found it rather challenging to export its products.
Diversification of rare earth products was started in RED quite early to produce small quantities of
cerium oxide for glass polishing, rare earths fluoride for cinema arc carbons, etc., which were all
low technology low value items. Realization of the changes in the rare earth scenario started in the
late 1980s and RED commissioned a plant in 1990 to produce samarium oxide (>95%) used for
the manufacture of samarium-cobalt permanent magnets by solvent extraction process. The
technology was completely indigenous developed by RED with the assistance from Uranium
Extraction Division of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). This plant worked successfully
producing sizable quantities of pure samarium oxide. Meanwhile the market potential for
neodymium for the manufacture of permanent magnets was realized. The discovery of the
outstanding properties of Nd-Fe-B alloys is considered as an exciting technological and commercial
development in the history of rare earth materials.
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World production of rare earth magnets in 1994 was estimated at US $ 1.16 billion and is expected
to grow to US$ 5.4 billion by 2004. With the world wide development of tremendous interest in the
Nd-Fe-B permanent magnets IRE decided to establish a facility at RED called PRYNCE
(Praseodymium-Yttrium-Neodymium-Cerium) to produce 135 tons per annum of neodymium oxide
(>95% pure) suitable for manufacture of Nd-Fe-B magnets.

Table-1: Energy products of magnetic materials

Material

Ferrite

Energy Product 34

Alnico 5

Alnico 9

SmCo5

Sm2Co17

Nd2Fe14B

44

84

176

208

350

(kJ/m3)

Neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnets with their high energy product can help to miniaturise
several magnetic devices to hitherto unbelievable small sizes. Advantages of these magnets are
high efficiency, high torque and high power in a compact size, with low noise, low temperature rise,
improved dynamic response, etc. These magnets find applications in brushless DC motors, stepper
motors, DC liner motors, synchronous DC motors, magnetic separators, magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI), microwave devices, relays & switches, impact printers, audio transducers
(telephone, microphone, speaker), actuators, computer disk drives, CD players, videorecorders &
camcoders, solar powered vehicles, medical devices, aerospace, high speed turbines, low speed
direct drive wind generators, etc. The industrial and commercial applications of NdFeB magnets are
wider than just electric motors. A breakdown of the use of these magnets is shown in Fig. 2.

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Process Description:

The process for the preparation of neodymium oxide is based on solvent extraction with a reagent
called PC88A and the technology used is completely indigenous developed by the joint efforts of
BARC and RED. The counter current solvent extraction process is carried out in mixer settler units
made of FRP. The process involves 18 stages of extraction, 24 stages of scrubbing, 6 stages of
stripping for neodymium and 6 stages of stripping for samarium.

The aqueous feed solution for this process containing Nd, Pr, Ce and La is obtained after the
recovery of samarium and heavier rare earths from the composite chloride solution. In the latter half
of 1990's, magnet manufacturers observed that for obtaining high quality Nd-Fe-B magnets,
neodymium oxide of purity >99% is needed. Subsequently the demand for 95% neodymium oxide
dropped and RED had to modify the solvent extraction process to produce >99% pure neodymium
oxide by increasing the number of scrubbing stages from 24 to 60.

Erection and Commissioning:

The plant was commissioned in December 98 and was inaugurated by the then Chairman, Atomic
Energy Commission (AEC), Dr. R. Chidambaram to initiate production of 95% pure neodymium
oxide. The scope of the plant was subsequently revised to produce 99% pure oxide as mentioned
above and after establishing the process parameters trial runs were commenced in September
1999. RED has till date produced about 75 tons of neodymium oxide suitable for neodymium
magnet production.

Conclusion:

The commissioning of the PRYNCE Plant has given IRE confidence to design and supply new
value added rare earth products to its customers. It will also help the Company to face new
challenges in the fast changing rare earth markets and ensure that RED remain as a reliable
supplier of value added rare earth products.

Research and Development Activities of IREL


S. Suresh Kumar, C. M. Mani, N. R. Nair and T. K. Mukherjee
Indian Rare Earths Ltd.

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For any industrial unit engaged in the commercial scale production of minerals and its further
processing for value addition, research and development is considered as a very important activity
and IREL is no exception. Among the three dedicated laboratories which cater to the various needs
of IREL, the first is located at Kollam, Kerala and known as Mineral Research Development Centre
(MRDC), the second at Orissa Sands Mining Complex (OSCOM), Chatrapur, Orissa and the third
and the oldest one at Rare Earths Division (RED), Alwaye, Kerala. The laboratories at MRDC and
RED are engaged in R&D activities related to mineral beneficiation in general and value addition to
radioactive mineral like monazite by separating its thorium and rare earths components
respectively The laboratory at OSCOM addresses both mineral separation and value addition to
remaining non-radioactive minerals through chemical routes.

Mixer-Settler of Indian Rare Earths

Mineral Research & Development Centre:

Beach sand mineral deposits earlier mined by IRE were of high grade, simple mineralogy and of
close grain size range. This mostly required conventional physical processing techniques only to
meet the purity and recovery targets. But the non-availability of high-grade ores necessitated
exploiting leaner deposits. The new deposits identified for mining have complex mineralogy, lower
feed grades and wide grain size ranges. The mining and processing of these require improved
processing techniques. Based on the market demand, new physical and chemical techniques are
required in addition to the conventional processing methods to obtain graded products. Energy
efficient, environment friendly and cost effective processing plants with automated process control
techniques are the requisites of tomorrow. In such highly competitive heavy mineral market,
adaptation of new technologies was found essential for keeping the company in the fore front. This
led to the setting up of Mineral Research and Development Centre (MRDC) at Kollam, Kerala in
1990. Over the years, this laboratory has been equipped with whole range of ore beneficiation and
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separation equipment to achieve following objectives:1. Detailed mineral characterization studies for increasing the efficiency of separation in unit
operations and suggesting required instrumentation for control of process parameters.
2. Develop intelligent systems for simulating plant operations for improving the plant efficiency.
3. Develop suitable technology for improving the mining and material transportation at the
operating plants.
4. Suggest modification/alternative techniques to improve the efficiency of existing circuits.
5. Conduct energy audit for optimizing the energy consumption.
6. Identify the low level impurities in the mineral products for specific end users.
7. Study and develop new physical separation techniques for exploiting leaner deposits.
8. Develop new value added mineral products.
9. Identification of mineral specification for customers and develop techniques to obtain
classified or graded mineral products.
Some of the major works undertaken at MRDC since its inception are:1. Detailed investigations in developing a flowsheet for the beach sand deposit of
Bhimlipatanam (Andhra Pradesh) to concentrate the heavy mineral content and recover the
individual minerals.
2. Studies to recover ilmenite from sediments of Kalbadevi bay for Geological Survey of India
(GSI) west coast division.
3. Studies on Floatex density separator with the nonconducting nonmagnetic fraction to check
the feasibility of separating fine sillimanite with the objective of eliminating air table from the
present OSCOM zircon circuit and recover sillimanite from OSCOM CUP tailings.
4. Studies conducted to recover the garnet and sillimanite lost in OSCOM CUP tailings.
5. Studies conducted to develop a flowsheet to recover monazite from air table feed at
Manavalakurichi (MK) using column flotation.
6. Studies conducted to develop a flowsheet for beneficiating the feed stock (silica sand) of M/s.
Excel Glasses Ltd., Alleppey and carry out engineering design and commissioning of the
plant.
7. Studies on beneficiation of Silica sand of M/s. Hindusthan National Glass and Industries Ltd.
(HNGIL), Bahadurgarh, Haryana.
8. Develop a flowsheet including metallurgical design, equipment specification and conceptual
design of a plant with 90,000 tpa capacity.
R&D Laboratory, OSCOM:

To have dedicated quality control cum applied research lab which can address the different
process problems and help in devising value addition processes the lab was progressively
equipped with facilities for value addition to minerals and to carry out analytical and basic studies in
the related fields. This inhouse laboratory of OSCOM is not only meant for routine analysis as
required by the various plants of OSCOM but also for carrying out R&D work on value addition on
various minerals.

Various R&D studies have been conducted by this laboratory to improve the metallurgical
performance of mining and mineral separation plants. As a result throughput of the plants has
increased and the grade and recovery of heavy minerals in concentrate has been enhanced. The
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two most outstanding contributions of this laboratory in the areas of value addition are development
of new process flowsheets for the preparation of synthetic rutile from OSCOM ilmenite and zirconia
from zircon.

Pilot-plant for producing Stabilized Zirconia with process technology developed in-house

Value addition on Ilmenite:

In 1986, worlds largest synthetic rutile plant was commissioned at OSCOM with an installed
capacity of one lakh tons of Synthetic Rutile (SR) based on cyclic process developed by Benelite
Corporation of America (BCA). The project faced various problems which finally resulted in the
stoppage of production in 1991. The plant was restarted at low capacity after short maintenance
programme but due to frequent failures of leaching system and connected equipment the desired
output was not achieved. Commercial production of SR was therefore discontinued from May, 1997
onwards.

An extensive R&D study was initiated to modify the process so that it becomes simple to operate
with existing equipment and most importantly with higher yield.

After detailed experimentation, the R&D laboratory came out with a cost effective simplified single
stage leaching process for ilmenite beneficiation. The modified process involved single stage
leaching in the presence of suitable additives.

The results of laboratory scale tests were revalidated in plant scale trials conducted in five phases.
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A month long continuous operation of a part of SRP and ARP proved that the modified process was
capable of producing 92% grade SR with good TiO2 recovery. A patent has been filed for the know
how so developed.

Value Addition on Zircon:

Zirconia, an oxide of zirconium, is one of the most important value added products from zircon.
With the discovery of transformation toughening property in partially stabilized zirconia, a new
generation of materials known as engineering ceramics or structural ceramics have started
competing with metal/alloys due to excellent thermal shock resistance, greater strength and
toughness including erosion and corrosion resistance. The laboratory has been working for last one
decade in developing the process for producing various grades of zirconia.

The laboratory is credited in developing a chemical process for producing high purity zirconia
containing very low impurities like iron oxide (<10 ppm) and silica (<100 ppm). Various grades of
stabilized zirconia produced in this laboratory was tested successfully for the preparation of artificial
diamond gem, high temperature nozzles etc.

The laboratory in collaboration with Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI),
Calcutta, Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), Hyderabad and Department of
Science & Technology, New Delhi, worked out a project for developing a technology for producing
critical components for application in iron and steel industries.

Based on the process flow sheet developed, the laboratory has successfully commissioned a pilot
plant for the production of hundreds of kilos (3.5 tpa) of various grades of stabilised zirconia starting
from zircon sand as produced by IREL.

Environmental Activities of IREL


P. Panduranga Rao
Chief General Manager (Safety, Env. & Community Affairs),
Indian Rare Earths Ltd., Mumbai

Safety and Environmental Policy occupies an important place in the functioning of Indian Rare
Earths Ltd. (IREL) which is engaged in mining and separation of beach sand minerals as well as
subsequent value addition by chemical processing. An effort has been made here to briefly present
the companys activities in environment management and rehabilitation programmes.
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1. Mining and Mineral Separation:

The mining operations from inland deposits are carried out by dredging at the units of
Chavara, Manavalakurichi (MK) and Orissa Sands Complex (OSCOM). The dredged sand is
concentrated by spirals thus obtaining concentrate A. The spirals are either integrated with
the dredge called Dredge & Wet Concentrator (DWC) or installed on the shore. This
concentrate A is further upgraded in the Concentration Upgradation Plant (CUP) to get a
highly enriched concentrate with respect to heavy minerals for its further processing in the
Mineral Separation Plant (MSP) where the separation of mineral constituents is carried out.
The tailings of DWC, CUP and MSP are used for backfilling of mined out areas. Background
radiation after mining and backfilling get reduced by a factor of upto ten due to the separation
and segregation of monazite.

Casuarina plantation in minedout and backfilled areas at OSCOM


2. Value Addition on Minerals:

Besides mining and mineral separation IREL is engaged in activities leading to value addition
to its mineral through physical and chemical routes. Production of zirflour and microzir by
physical grinding and synthetic rutile, thorium nitrate and chemicals of zirconium and rare
earths all through chemical processing, are typical examples.
1. Production of synthetic rutile at oscom:

The synthetic rutile is produced at OSCOM in its two facilities viz. Synthetic Rutile Plant
(SRP) and Acid Regenaration Plant (ARP).

At the Synthetic Rutile Plant (SRP), the ilmenite is mixed with lecofines and roasted in
rotary kiln to convert ferric oxide into ferrous form which is more amenable for acid
leaching. The reduced ilmenite is treated with 20% HCl at elevated temperature and
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pressure to remove iron oxides. The leached ilmenite is washed with water, filtered and
calcined to obtain synthetic rutile containing about 92% titanium dioxide.

The waste acid from SRP contains large quantities of dissolved iron chlorides along with
some unreacted HCl. This acid is processed in the Acid Regeneration Plant (ARP) to
produce 1820% hydrochloric acid and iron oxide powder which is disposed in mined
out areas.
2. Production of Thorium Nitrate at OSCOM:

Thorium nitrate is produced at the Thorium Plant located at OSCOM by chemical


conversion of thorium oxalate supplied by RED crude thorium nitrate solution. The
crude thorium nitrate solution is purified through solvent extraction to recover pure
thorium bearing solution which is evaporated to recover thorium nitrate crystals.
3. Production of Zirconium Chemicals at MK Unit:

Production of zirconium chemicals like frit, chloride, sulphate, etc. from the mineral
zircon is carried out at the MK unit. This plant generates various kinds of effluents from
such operations.
4. Production of Rare Earth Chemicals at RED:

The Rare Earths Division at Alwaye, called RED is engaged in recovering thorium
concentrate and various rare earth chemicals.
5. Treatment and Disposal Methods for Liquid and Gaseous Effluents OSCOM:

The exhaust gases are passed through cyclones and scrubbers to remove particulate
matters and acid fumes before it is discharged through the stacks of heights varying
from 2040 metres.

The MSP contributes approximately 100 m3/day effluent from sillimainite circuit
containing small quantities of HCl, sodium silicate, oleic acid and soda ash. The
quantities of effluents from SRP, ARP, Boiler, Thorium Plant are treated with lime and
discharged along with the process water.

Both nitrate and non-nitrate effluents generated in the Thorium Plant are treated.
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6. MK:

The strong and weak effluents from zirouinm oxide plant are collected and stored
separately. The strong alkaline leach solution is sold to the silicate manufacturers. The
excess strong alkaline leach solution and the weak alkaline solution are neutralized with
acid to maintain Ph between 6.5 to 8.5. The neutralized effluent is allowed to settle in a
settling tank after the addition of suitable flocs. The overflow from the tank goes to a
collection sump and the sludge from the bottom of the tank is directed to sludge drying
beds. The underflow from the sludge drying beds also goes to the collection sump from
where it is pumped to the sea.
7. RED:

To minimize the release of the gases such as Cl2, H2S and HCl vapours, scrubbers are
used in the Modernised Helium & Uranium Recovery (MOHUR), Heavy Rare Earths
Oxide (HERO), Diversified Product Plant (DPP).

A number of source control measures are adopted at the plant like floor mopping,
reduction in quantity of water used for decontamination and their reuse, recycle of filter
press washings etc. The effluent streams that needed chemical treatment are identified,
neutralised and segregated. Total effluent requiring the treatment is about 200 m3/day.
The two streams of effluents i.e. one of alkaline and other acidic are collected
separately and mixed in a flash mixer to neutralize the combined waste. CaCl2 and
FeCl3 are added to remove the PO4-F-,Ra228, Ra226 and Pb. The sludge is filtered
and the filter cake is filled in HDPE bags and disposed of as land-fill in a controlled area.
3. Disposal Methods for Solid Waste:
OSCOM
1. Thorium Plant:

The radioactive solid waste from thorium plant is disposed off in specially designed
RCC trenches. The radioactive solid waste is packed in HDPE bags and stored in
underground RCC vault as per Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) guidelines.
Additional barriers such as compact clay soil and a clay mix, phosphate, powdered rock,
barytes and lime of appropriate thickness are provided. These barriers prevent the
leakage in the event of structural failure of the containment system by retaining
radioactive pollutants. Leachability studies are carried out on the solid waste for design
of the disposal facilities. In addition, the groundwater is also monitored.
2. Other Solid waste:

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The monazite concentrates from MSP are stockpiled in trenches with provision for
recovery. Boiler ash is disposed off as a land-fill in the mined out area.
3. RED:

Approximately 90 tons of lead barium cake is generated at RED during the deactivation
of the RE Chloride with activity of 10003000 Bq/gm. This lead barium cake is disposed
in FRP lined RCC trenches.
4. Land Management:

The backfilling of the mined out areas is synchronized with mining activity keeping
minimum time lag between the two. The contours/landscape of the area is brought back
to the original contours/ landscape. Steps are taken to minimise the impact of mining
operations on groundwater, land and aquatic life.
5. Afforestation Programme:

Massive afforestation programmes are carried out in OSCOM, MK and Chavara Units.

The total no. of trees planted during the year 1999-2000 were as follows:

Unit

OSCOM

Plantation (no.of trees) 50900

MK

Chavara

9978 4250

At OSCOM total trees planted were 4,03,000 during 1987-2000.

OSCOM Unit has also won Atomic Energy Regulatory Board Green Site Awards for the
years 1994, 95, 96 and 98.
6. Environment Audit:

Environment audit is conducted yearly by a group of environmental professionals from


the units and Corporate Office. The environment statement is furnished for the financial
year to the respective State Pollution Control Board.
7. Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environment Management Plan
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(EMP):

EIA/EMP studies were carried out for thorium plant at OSCOM and MOEF clearance
was obtained. Similar Studies for MK and Chavara have been conducted.

Integrated Coastal Management System plans are being developed for preservation of
the coastline at Chavara with the assistance of Centre for Earth Sciences, Trivandrum.
8. Ressettlement & Rehabilitation (R&R) Programme at Chavara:

The Chavara Unit had been dredging in its own lands since the inception of the first
Mineral Recovery Plant (MRP-I) in the year 1990. The available land for dredging was
exhausted in 1998. With the help of the district authorities a suitable compensation
package was offered for acquiring additional land. The compensation package for
people removed from the land containing valuable minerals for exploitation by mining
comprises:1. Appropriate monitary consideration towards the value of land, buildings, structures
and trees owned by the concerned persons.
2. Provision of land for resettlement in the back filled mined out areas with adequate
infrastructural facilities like roads, drinking water, electricity, etc. besides paying
shifting/goodwill charges.
Mineral Sands and Rare Earths - Marketing Challenge
V. K. Verma
Director (Marketing),
Indian Rare Earths Ltd., Mumbai

The Indian Rare Earths Ltd. (IREL) has been selling its products both in the domestic and export
markets almost since its inception in the early 1950's. Around mid 1990's, the proportion of exports
to domestic sales was almost equal. While the domestic marketing was easy, exporting was a
tough exercise. Until the mid-1990's, IREL was virtually the sole organization in the country
producing and selling beach sand minerals namely, ilmenite, rutile, leucoxene and zircon. M/s
Kerala Minerals & Metals Ltd. (KMML), a Kerala State-owned undertaking has also been
functioning in the field but on a much smaller scale of operation as compared to that of IREL. The
latter therefore, had enjoyed a monopolistic or duopolistic position in the domestic market for the
supply of aforesaid products. The position has undergone a sea-change in the latter half of 1990's
with the increasing liberalisation of the economy. The winds of globalization have brought in their
fold the forces that have made the marketing of these minerals and other products of the company
a challenging task. On the other hand the developments in countries abroad during this period have
also been such as to make exports of these products from India much more difficult. The factors
impinging upon the domestic and export marketing are as follows:
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Domestic Marketing:

The following developments are continuing to take place in the country:1. Entry of private sector producers into the field.
2. Liberal imports of mineral sands into the country and
3. Export of mineral sands by the private sector organizations.
These have converged to create substantial competition from within the country for marketing the
products in the domestic market and the competition is going to become progressively fiercer with
the entry of more private sector players (both domestic and foreign) as and when they setup their
shop in India.

Today, large quantities of zircon sand, zircon flour, zircon opacifier, zirconium compounds,
baddeleyite (zirconium oxide) and garnet microgrits are being imported into the country. The
company has to match the prices with the landed cost of these imports as India is a small player
compared to the giants overseas who enjoy tremendous economies of scale besides a first class
infrastructure. Consequently, there is a downward pressure on prices entailing reduced profitability.

Besides, a number of Indian private sector parties either on their own or in collaboration with
foreign partners, are about to open shop by setting up large projects in the field of beach sands
mineral separation. The fruition of these additional capacities is bound to make marketing of the
minerals both within the country and abroad an increasingly difficult job. The advantages enjoyed
by the private sector in terms of flexibilities, higher labour productivity and better work culture shall
make the operations of public sector companies like IREL much more difficult.

Shri. V. K. Verma, Director (Mktg.), IREL receiving the Special Export Award for the year
1999-2000 from Shri. Omar Abdullah, Honble Minister of State for Commerce and Industry,
Government of India

Export Marketing:

IRELs share of world exports for its key product is of the order of 5-6%. The growth in production
during the 1990's could not keep pace with the world growth owing to prolonged teething problems
experienced at Orissa Sands Complex (OSCOM), inadequate availability of land for mining at
Chavara (Kerala) and for want of requisite quantum of beach washings at Manavalakurichi (Tamil
Nadu). Besides, the recent tendency of mergers and acquisitions abroad has resulted into IREL
having to compete with bigger giants who have got more competitive teeth because of the
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increased size of their operations. To cite an example, the merger of RGC, Australia with
Westralian Sands, Australia has resulted into the formation of Iluka Resources Ltd. A company that
enjoys a formidable 32% of the world market share in the field of titanium feedstocks like ilmenite,
rutile, synthetic rutile and leucoxene. Compared to this IRELs share is hardly 5%. Not only the
mergers are confined to IRELs competitors, they have also pervaded the user industry where a
number of TiO2 producers have merged together to sharpen their sourcing clout. Consequently,
the target customer group has sizably shrunk to the detriment of relatively small players like IREL.
To cite an example, Bayer, Germany who had been sourcing their requirement for the last 25 years
from IREL uninterruptedly could not sustain the same ever since they were taken over by KerrMcGee Chemical Corpn (KMCC) of USA, two years ago. A somewhat similar phenomenon is on
the cards where the French TiO2 producer (Thann et Mulhouse owned by Rhodia) has ceased to
be a IREL customer after having been taken over by Millennium Pigments, USA. Recent takeover
of Kemiras pigment plants in USA and Netherlands by KMCC has also accelerated the
phenomenon to the detriment of feedstock suppliers like IREL.

Notwithstanding the above, IREL has also to grapple with the following limitations in the market
place:1. A low TiO2 ilmenite of the Orissa-type which is not a preferred raw material for TiO2 pigment
manufacture nor this ilmenite can be upgraded by electrosmelting for want of cheaper power
in the country.
2. Excessive presence of impurities like Al2O3 and SiO2 in IRELs products like zircon and rutile
also make the products somewhat inferior to the prime products supplied by Australia and
South Africa. These impurities are due to excessive presence of sillimanite and garnet in the
countrys resources.
3. Presence of monazite and, therefore, of radioactive thorium and uranium in the companys
products.
Bulk of the rare earths products in the world are based on bastnaesite and, therefore, do not suffer
from the debility of radioactivity presence.

Lack of Shipping Infrastructure:

Unlike our competitors in Australia and South Africa who enjoy easy access to all weather,
extremely efficient ports like Fremantle, Bunbury, Sydney, Brisbane, Cape Town, Richards Bay and
the like for the export of their produce, IREL is severely constrained by its compulsion to ship from
virtually non-existent ports like Neendakara and Gopalpur which operate only for 3-4 months in the
fair-weather season. The loading at these ports is midstream as these ports do not have any shore
jetties. Consequently, the loading rates are abysmally low of the order of 1000-2000 tons per
weather working day in sharp contrast to 10000 tons or even more per weather working day at the
ports of our competitors. This makes the shipping a very costly exercise and erodes the FOB price
realisation. The obstinacy of the trade unions controlling the shipping workers at these ports makes
shipping a further costlier proposition.

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Notwithstanding the plethora of constraints listed above, IREL has done exceedingly well on the
marketing front by putting in tremendous amount of effort in increasing its sales turnover both in the
domestic and export markets. New markets like France, China, Ukraine and South Korea have
been successfully tapped. The sales revenue has grown by over 75% during the last 4-5 years and
is going to touch an all time high over Rs 240 crore during the current year ending March 2001. The
companys export performance has in particular been acclaimed year after year by the export
promotion agencies. IREL has to its credit over 32 prestigious export Awards the last having been
won this year itself for its commendable export performance during 1999-2000.

The sales and export performance during the last decade is given below:-

Year

Value in Rs Lakh
Exports
Turnover

1990-91 2,293

6,567

1991-92 3,937

8,622

1992-93 4,650

9,252

1993-94 5,283

10,429

1994-95 6,699

13,017

1995-96 6,735

14,526

1996-97 5,524*

14,569

1997-98 7,203

17,270

1998-99 6,184+

17,807

1999-00 7,825

21,401

2000-01 102 Crore# 240 Crore#

* reduction due to labour strike

+ reduction due to discontinuation of export of high-value synthetic rutile

# provisional

Milestones of Indian Rare Earths Ltd.:


1. 1950: IREL is incorporated as a private company jointly owned by the GOI & Govt. of
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Travancore, Cochin.
2. 1952: Production commences at RED, Alwaye. Late Prime Minister Shri Jawaharlal Nehru
dedicates RED to the Nation.
3. 1953-55: Thorium Plant, Trombay owned by DAE is commissioned by IREL.
4. 1963: IREL becomes a full-fledged Govt. undertaking under DAE.
5. 1965: MK and Chavara Plants are taken over from Travancore Mineals Ltd. Production at MK
and refurbishing of Chavara Plant commence.
6. 1966: IREL completes Uranium Mill Project at Jaduguda, hands over to UCIL.
7. 1967: IREL takes over H&W (Travancore) plant at MK. Mineral Division is formed comprising
Chavara & MK.
8. 1970: Refurbished Chavara Plant goes into production. Capacity of MK Plant is expanded.
9. 1973: Pilot Plant is setup for separation of individual Rare Earths.
10. 1977: Commencement of OSCOM Project.
11. 1979: Preconcentrator Plant is commissioned at MK.
12. 1985: Modernization and Helium & Uranium Recovery Project (MOHUR) commences at RED.
13. 1986: New DWC Plant commences at MK. HERO Project at Alwaye is commissioned.
Production is started at OSCOM.
14. 1987: MOHUR is commissioned. New DWC Project commences at Chavara. New Thorium
Plant commences at OSCOM.
15. 1988: Commencement of CUP at OSCOM and MK.
16. 1990: MRDC is launched at Quilon. HERO Plant is commissioned at Alwaye. DWCP at
Chavara, CUP at OSCOM and MK are commissioned.
17. 1990-91: IREL signs MOU with Government of India. Diversify Plant Project (DPP) starts trial
production for augmenting Cerium Hydrate, Didymium Carbonate at Alwaye.
18. 1993-94: Co-generation Plant is commissioned at RED. NTP starts commercial production.
19. 1994-95: Ilmenite quality is enhanced in Chavara and OSCOM. MRDC, Quilon is fully
functional.
20. 1995 96: RED gets ISO 9002 certificate.
21. 1996-97: Microzir Plant is commissioned in Chavra.
22. 1997-98: OSCOM gets ISO 9002 certificate. PRYNCE 95% Nd2O3 is commissioned at RED.
Thorium Plant at Trombay is closed.
23. 1999-2000: MK and Chavara get ISO 9002 certificate. Corporate Plan is approved. IREL
starts paying the Government loan. Additional Recovery of Rutile and Zircon project is
implemented at MK. Joint venture proposals with SAL, AUSTPAC Resources are processed.

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