India holds the world’s third-largest reserves of rare earths at 6.9 million tonnes, yet its contribution is not even 1 per cent of the global production. A new report from Amicus Growth, cited by ANI, underlined this gap between resource potential and actual production on the part of India, while China leads in the global rare earth market with both reserves and processing capabilities.The country’s vast reserves, which make up 6-7 per cent of global resources, are primarily found in coastal sands rich in monazite. However, these deposits contain thorium, a radioactive element that makes mining and processing more complicated due to stringent safety rules.In 2024, the domestic production of rare earth elements stood at only 2,900 tonnes, making the country the seventh largest producer globally. China led the production ranks with 270,000 tonnes of total domestic and export production. The US produced 45,000 tonnes to become the second largest, with Myanmar producing 31,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, Australia, Thailand, and Nigeria produced approximately 13,000 tonnes each.Processing capacity remains a major hurdle for India. China controls roughly 90 per cent of global refining operations and nearly all heavy rare earth element processing. India’s limited processing abilities have kept it largely absent from the global rare earth trade, despite a recent small-scale joint venture with Japan in Visakhapatnam.Historical regulations have also played a role in India’s low output. For years, the government-owned Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) handled most production, treating these valuable elements as secondary products rather than strategic resources.The global rare earth reserve picture shows total deposits of 90-110 million tonnes. China leads with 44 million tonnes, followed by Brazil with 21 million tonnes. Australia holds 5.7 million tonnes, Russia 3.8 million tonnes, Vietnam 3.5 million tonnes, and the United States 1.9 million tonnes.“Annual production has been only a few thousand tonnes, and India has played virtually no role in global REE trade,” the report stated. It also added that India’s challenge lies not in resource availability but in addressing execution problems, processing limitations, and better integration across the value chain.
