India doubles down on exploration, mining of rare earths

The Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), a constituent unit of DAE, is carrying out exploration and augmentation of minerals of rare earth group elements along the coastal and inland placer sands as well as in hard rock terrains in several potential geological domains of the country, informed the government.

As on January 28, 2026 the rare earth minerals resources estimated by AMD include 136 deposits of Beach Sand Minerals containing 13.15 million tonnes (Mt) of monazite (a mineral of Thorium and Rare Earths) occurring in the coastal beach, teri/red sands and inland alluvium in parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

These deposits contain approximately 7.23 Mt in-situ Rare Earth Oxide (eq.) resources, said Minister of Coal and Mines, G Kishan Reddy, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

Also, three deposits of rare-earth minerals in hard rocks in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat containing 1.29 Mt in-situ Rare Earth Oxide (eq.) resources have been estimated.