Indian Rare Earths

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IREL (India) Limited
Formerly
Indian Rare Earths Limited
IndustryMining
Founded18 August 1950[1]
HeadquartersPlot No.1207, Veer Savakar Marg, Prabhadevi, near Siddhi Vinayak temple,
Mumbai
,
India
Key people
D. Singh
(Chairman & MD)
ProductsIlmenite
Rutile
Zircon
Garnet
Sillimanite
Lanthanum carbonate
Cerium(III) carbonate
Neodymium
Praseodymium
Samarium
Gadolinium
Yttrium
Ndpr Oxalate
Thorium(IV) nitrate
Trisodium phosphate
Rare Earth Chloride
RevenueIncrease₹816.63 crore (US$110 million) (2019) [2]
Increase₹200.64 crore (US$28 million) (2019)[2]
Increase₹117.51 crore (US$16 million) (2019)[2]
Total assetsIncrease₹1,233.87 crore (US$170 million) (2019)[2]
Total equityIncrease₹799.93 crore (US$110 million) (2019)[2]
OwnerGovernment of India
Number of employees
1377 (March 2019) [2]
Websiteirel.co.in

IREL (India) Limited (Formally Indian Rare Earths Limited) is a government-owned corporation Mini-Ratna Category A, Schedule B Company, in India based in Mumbai. It was incorporated as a public limited company in 1950, jointly owned by the Government of India and Government of Travancore, Kochi with the primary intention of taking up commercial scale processing of Monazite. Government of India took control of IREL in 1963 under the administrative control of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). It was incorporated with the primary intention of taking up commercial scale processing of monazite sand at its first unit namely Rare Earths Division (RED), Aluva, Kochi for the recovery of thorium.[3]

list of units [4]

Rare Earths Division (RED) Aluva

This plant, the first unit of IREL, was made operational way back in 1952 for processing of monazite, whose capacity was subsequently increased by about 3 times.Rare Earths Division (RED), Udyogamandal, Aluva is located on the banks of river Periyar in Kerala at a distance of 12 kms from the port city of Kochi and 15 kms from Kochi International Airport.

In the year 2012, the plant was refurbished to process mixed Rare Earths chloride. It produces high pure individual rare earth compounds of Lanthanum and Cerium in Oxide/Carbonate form, and that of Neodymium-Praseodymium, Samarium, Gadolinium and Yttrium in Oxide/Oxalate form (with more than 99% Purity). RED also produces strategic material for the Department of Atomic Energy.[5]

Orissa Sand Complex (OSCOM) and OSCOM - Rare Earth Extraction Plant(REEP)

IREL commissioned its largest division called Orissa Sand Complex (OSCOM)[6] at Chhatrapur, Odisha.[7][8] Today IREL operates these four units along with a corporate office in Mumbai[9] and a unit located in Manavalakurichi of Kanyakumari district.[10] It produces/sells six heavy minerals namely ilmenite, rutile, zircon, monazite, sillimanite, and garnet as well as various value added products.

From 1 May 2015 it started commercial operation of Monazite Processing Plant at Orissa to process 10000tpa monazite to produce 11220tpa of rare earth chloride, 13500 tri-sodium phosphate, 26tpa NGADU etc. Similarly High Pure Rare Earth facility also commenced operation to refine pure rare earth compounds. In 2013 Gopalpur port shipped 7,500 metric tonne of ilmenite from Orissa Sand Complex (OSCOM) to South Korea for the first time after IREL started the operation.[11]Monazite deposit in Odisha contains rare earths like, Lanthanum, Cerium, Praseodymium, Neodymium etc. It also contains Thorium which is a "prescribed substance", the list of which was revised in 2006 under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.[12]

IREL has set up a Rare Earth Extraction plant (REEP) producing mixed Rare Earth chloride (MRCL) Tri-sodium phosphate etc, at its unit OSCOM Odisha. MRCL produced from the above plant is processed at IREL’s plant at Rare Earth Division (RED) in Aluva Kerala for producing separated High Pure Rare Earth (HPRE) Oxides/Compounds.Rare Earth processing unit having installed capacity of 11200 tpa mixed Rare Earth Chlorides was commissioned in the year 2015-16.[13]

Manavalakurichi unit (MK)

IREL opened the division in 1963 after becoming a fully public sector undertaking under the administrative control of Department of Atomic Energy(DAE), Government of India, IREL will carry out beach sand mining and extract heavy minerals at an area of 1,144.06 hectare in eight villages of Kanniyakumari district.It currently holds beach sand mining lease for an area of 178.06 hectare including 29.78 hectare in Midalam and Keezhmidalam,148.27 hectare in Manavalakurichi of Kanyakumari district.

IREL has a mineral manufacturing unit functioning in Manavalakurichi village near Colachel in Kanniyakumari for extracting ilmenite, zircon, rutile, monazite and sillimanite.[14]Annual production capacity of MK mineral separation plant is 91,200 tonnes per annum (tpa) of Ilmenite and other associated minerals such as Rutile, Zircon and Garnet.[15]

Chavara Mineral Division

Chavara mineral separation plant is located 10 kms north of Kollam and 85 kms from Thiruvananthapuram the Capital of Kerala. It is about 135 kms from Kochi, the major port in Kerala. The nearest airport is at Thiruvananthapuram. The adjacent area of Chavara is blessed with one of the best mineral sand deposits in the country – the renowned “Q” Grade minerals.

The Chavara mines contain as high as 40% heavy minerals extending over a stretch of 23 kms in the coastal belt of Neendakara and Kayamkulam, The deposits is quite rich with Ilmenite, Rutile, Zircon, Sillimanite and is unique with weathered variety having 60% TiO2 Ilmenite.

The plant has a capacity to produce 2,35,900 tpa of Ilmenite and associated minerals such as Rutile, Zircon and Sillimanite. It has a facility to produce Zirflor in sizes (-300 and -200) in the zircon opacifier plant.The plant operates on an advanced modular design with state of the art equipments in mineral separation and has a well - equipped Quality Control Lab for quality assurance. It is certified for ISO 9001:2008, 14001:2004 and 18001:2007.

Rare Earth Permanent Magnet (REPM), Vizag

IREL has setup a plant producing Rare Earth Permanent Magnet (REPM) at Visakhapatnam based on Indigenous Technology.The proposed REPM production facilities shall be of strategic importance to the Nation and under the Make in India initiative the upcoming samarium-cobalt permanent magnet plant in Visakhapatnam will be setup[16][17]

On 11th May 2023, PM Narendra Modi dedicates the ‘Rare Earth Permanent Magnet Plant, Visakhapatnam’ to the nation hence India will join select group of nations with capacity to produce Rare Earth Permanent Magnets.[18] The plant was built by Engineering Projects(India) Ltd.(EPIL). [19]

The plant has an annual capacity of 3,000 kg and overall cost is 197 crore.The Facility has been established based on indigenous technology developed by BARC and DMRL and using indigenous rare earth Samarium resources.[20]

IRERC, Kollam

The Corporate Research Centre is located at Kollam, Kerala[21] and carries out research in the field of value added products from beach sand minerals, undertakes consultancy projects on mineral separation and flow sheet development, carrying out mineral analysis and caters to the needs of internal and external customers.[22]


References

  1. ↑ "Department of Atomic Energy: Milestones". Barc.ernet.in. Archived from the original on 20 September 2010. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Balance Sheet 31.03.2019".
  3. ↑ "About Us". Irel.gov.in. 18 August 1950. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
  4. ↑ https://www.irel.co.in/ [bare URL]
  5. ↑ https://www.irel.co.in/rare-earths-division-aluva [bare URL]
  6. ↑ DAE. "Indian Rare Earths Limited". Dae.gov.in. Archived from the original on 15 September 2010. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
  7. ↑ "Other States / Orissa News : Drinking water projects inaugurated in three villages". The Hindu. 21 May 2010. Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
  8. ↑ "___________ » Indian Rare Earths Ltd". Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  9. ↑ "In 1986x, Indian Rare Earth Ltd" (PDF). Retrieved 10 July 2010.
  10. ↑ "About Us". Archived from the original on 3 September 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  11. ↑ "Gopalpur Port begins operations". The Times of India. 27 May 2013.
  12. ↑ https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/countrys-only-monazite-processing-plant-goes-on-stream-115100900778_1.html
  13. ↑ https://www.irel.co.in/oscom-rare-earth-extraction-plant [bare URL]
  14. ↑ "Centre gives nod for IREL to mine beach sand for heavy minerals in Kanniyakumari after 21 years".
  15. ↑ https://www.irel.co.in/manavalakurichi-mineral-division [bare URL]
  16. ↑ "A rare earths roadmap for India: Seeking atma nirbharta in Indian technology". 9 January 2022.
  17. ↑ https://www.irel.co.in/repm [bare URL]
  18. ↑ https://psuwatch.com/newsupdates/pm-modi-inaugurates-rare-earth-permanent-magnet-plant-vishakhapatnam
  19. ↑ https://bidassist.com/all-tenders/engineering-projects-india-limited/detail-f777bda0-2712-4591-b8fd-61b0080d5736/amp
  20. ↑ https://psuwatch.com/newsupdates/pm-modi-dedicates-rare-earth-permanent-magnet-plant-at-barc
  21. ↑ "1002.PDF | apr102009 | currsci | Indian Academy of Sciences" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
  22. ↑ "Indian Rare Earths Limited - About Us". Irel.gov.in. Archived from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2010.

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