Mineral-rich A.P. stands to gain from Rare Earth Corridor plan, says official

Due to the presence of huge quantities of Rare Earth Minerals (REM) in the beach sands along its 1,053-kilometre-long coast, Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) is well positioned to be a crucial link in India’s strategic mineral supply chain in the foreseeable future.

The State has these mineral deposits spread in about 16,000 hectares, of which superior quality minerals were identified mostly in Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam districts.

In this context, the announcement of the Central government support in the Union Budget 2026 for the development of Rare Earth Corridors (RECs) in four southern States, including A.P., has come as a boon, AP Mineral Development Corporation vice-chairman and managing director Pravin Kumar told The Hindu in an exclusive interview on Friday. 

He said 30% of the country’s monazite deposits were located in A.P., and that many minerals were in advanced stages of exploration under the regulatory oversight of the Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD) of the Department of Atomic Energy, and with the operational expertise of IREL India Ltd (formerly Indian Rare Earths Limited).

A.P. is poised to shift gears in exploring the high-value minerals, especially monazite and ilmenite, and processing them for diverse commercial applications by capitalising on the Central support, Mr. Pravin Kumar said, adding APMDC has already secured 1,000 hectares of beach sand area between Bheemunipatnam in Visakhapatnam district and Gara mandal in Srikakulam, where a project developer and operator is engaged in mining on a pilot basis. APMDC got the nomination to explore the rare earth minerals in another 5,000 acres and it was on track.

Besides, large quantities of ilmenite were found, from which titanium-based downstream products can be made. A total of 17 types of rare earth minerals and metals were identified along the coast and these have the potential to make A.P. a major supplier once all necessary clearances are in place a few years from now.

Some of them go into the manufacture of Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (REPM) which are in high demand from the renewable energy, aerospace and defence and electronics sectors.

The RECs in A.P., Odisha, Kerala and Tamil Nadu are expected to give a major fillip to the REPM manufacturing scheme. There are plans to set up titanium-based industrial clusters, Mr. Pravin Kumar said.

The APMDC is waiting for guidelines related to the RECs in order to take up the mining activity aggressively. Before that, steps are being taken to obtain clearances so as to be prepared from the State government side.