Foreign firms assure rare-earth oxide supply under PLI scheme

Major foreign mining and refining companies have assured the Indian government that they will have sufficient stocks of rare-earth oxides to supply to the winning bidders under the country’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for indigenous manufacturing of rare-earth permanent magnets (REPMs), Business Standard has learnt.

- DEEPAK PATEL

These international mining and refining companies include UK-based Rainbow Rare Earths and Australia-based Lynas Rare Earths, and Iluka Resources.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) is the nodal ministry for the scheme, which is currently under intense inter-ministerial discussions. The PLI scheme proposes financial incentives, both capital subsidy and sales-based incentives of about ₹7,350 crore, for private players that set up five manufacturing plants with a combined REPM production capacity of 6,000 tonnes per year.

According to the MHI’s estimates, around 1,500 tonnes of rare-earth oxides will be required to produce 6,000 tonnes of REPMS.

In India, only Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IREL),which operates under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), produces these oxides and can supply no more than 500 tonnes to the winning bidders under the scheme. There maining 1,000 tonnes will, there fore, have to be imported.