India strikes to preserve its uncommon earths, seeks halt to Japan exports

Samples of uncommon earth minerals from left, Cerium oxide, Bastnasite, Neodymium oxide and Lanthanum carbonate are on show throughout a tour of Molycorp’s Mountain Go Uncommon Earth facility in Mountain Go, California June 29, 2015.
| Photograph Credit score: Reuters

India has requested state-run miner IREL to droop a 13-year-old settlement on uncommon earth exports to Japan and to safeguard provides for home wants, two sources acquainted with the matter informed Reuters, aiming to scale back India’s dependence on China.

IREL additionally desires to develop India’s capability for uncommon earth processing, which is dominated globally by China and has turn into a weapon in escalating commerce wars. China has curbed its uncommon earth supplies exports since April, pressuring automakers and high-tech producers worldwide.

In a current assembly with auto and different trade executives, Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal requested IREL to cease its exports of uncommon earths, primarily neodymium, a key materials utilized in magnets for electrical car motors, one of many sources stated.

The Commerce Ministry, IREL and the Division of Atomic Power, which oversees IREL, didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

The sources declined to be recognized due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Beneath a 2012 authorities settlement, IREL provides uncommon earths to Toyotsu Uncommon Earths India, a unit of Japanese buying and selling home Toyota Tsusho, which processes them for export to Japan the place they’re used to make magnets.

In 2024, Toyotsu shipped greater than 1,000 metric tons of uncommon earth supplies to Japan, commercially obtainable customs knowledge confirmed. That’s one-third of the two,900 tons mined by IREL, though Japan depends primarily on China for its uncommon earths provide.

Toyota Tsusho and Toyotsu didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

IREL has been exporting uncommon earths on account of a scarcity of home processing capability, however following the current disruptions to provides of Chinese language materials it desires to maintain its uncommon earths at house and develop home mining and processing, a second supply stated, including that IREL is awaiting statutory clearances at 4 mines.

Nevertheless, India could not instantly be capable to cease provides to Japan as a result of they fall underneath a bilateral authorities settlement, the particular person stated.

IREL desires this to be “amicably determined and negotiated as a result of Japan is a pleasant nation”, the particular person added.

Japan’s Commerce Ministry stated in an announcement to Reuters: “We want to chorus from answering questions on bilateral exchanges on the whole, not nearly this matter.”

Growth plans

China’s current export controls on uncommon earth supplies have rocked the worldwide auto trade, which has warned of provide chain disruptions and manufacturing halts.

China additionally weaponised its provides in 2010, when it briefly stopped shipments to Japan. That prompted the Japanese to show to India for uncommon earths.

India has the world’s fifth-largest uncommon earth reserves, at 6.9 million metric tons, however there is no such thing as a home magnet manufacturing. India depends on imported magnets, primarily from China.

Within the fiscal yr to March 2025, India imported 53,748 metric tons of uncommon earth magnets, authorities knowledge confirmed. These are utilized in vehicles, wind generators, medical gadgets and different manufactured items.

Uncommon earth mining is restricted to IREL, which provides India’s Atomic Power Division with supplies for nuclear energy initiatives and defence-related purposes. India lacks wide-scale expertise and infrastructure to mine uncommon earths, and the event of any commercially viable home provide chain is years away, analysts stated.

IREL has a uncommon earths extraction plant within the jap Indian state of Odisha and a refining unit in Kerala, in southern India. The miner, based in 1950, plans to provide 450 metric tons of extracted neodymium within the fiscal yr to March 2026 with a plan to double that by 2030, the second particular person stated.

It is usually in search of a company companion for the manufacturing of uncommon earth magnets for the auto and pharmaceutical industries, the particular person stated.

India is firming up plans for incentives to corporations to arrange uncommon earth processing and magnet manufacturing amenities to fulfill native demand, folks acquainted with the matter informed Reuters earlier this month.