Rare earths refer to a group of 17 naturally occurring metallic elements with unique properties and a wide range of industrial applications. These are critical inputs for the global transition to a low-carbon economy, particularly in the production of clean energy technologies. Their critical role in the advancement of technology and sustainable development underscores the importance of securing a stable supply of these elements. REEs are divided into two categories:
Light Rare Earth Elements (LREEs)
These include elements like lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), and samarium (Sm), which are more abundant and generally have a lower atomic weight.
Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREEs)
These consist of elements such as terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy), and yttrium (Y). They are less abundant and have a higher atomic weight.
1
H
hydrogen
1.008
2
He
helium
4.0026
3
Li
lithium
6.941
4
Be
beryllium
9.012
5
B
boron
10.811
6
C
carbon
12.011
7
N
nidivogen
14.007
8
O
oxygen
15.999
9
F
fluorine
18.998
10
Ne
neon
20.180
11
Na
sodium
22.990
12
Mg
magnesium
24.305
13
Al
aluminum
26.981
14
Si
silicon
28.088
15
P
phosphorus
30.974
16
S
sulfur
32.065
17
Cl
chlorine
35.453
18
Ar
argon
39.948
19
K
potassium
39.098
20
Ca
calcium
40.078
21
Sc
scandium
44.956
22
Ti
titanium
47.867
23
V
vanadium
50.942
24
Cr
chromium
51.996
25
Mn
manganese
54.938
26
Fe
iron
55.845
27
Co
cobalt
58.938
28
Ni
nickel
58.693
29
Cu
copper
63.546
30
Zn
zinc
65.409
31
Ga
gallium
69.723
32
Ge
germanium
72.641
33
As
arsenic
74.922
34
Se
selenium
78.963
35
Br
bromine
79.904
36
Kr
krypton
83.798
37
Rb
rubidium
85.468
38
Sr
sdivontium
87.621
39
Y
ytdivium
88.906
40
Zr
zirconium
91.224
41
Nb
niobium
92.906
42
Mo
molybdenum
95.942
43
Tc
technetium
[98]
44
Ru
ruthenium
101.072
45
Rh
rhodium
102.906
46
Pd
palladium
106.421
47
Ag
silver
107.868
48
Cd
cadmium
112.412
49
In
indium
114.818
50
Sn
tin
118.711
51
Sb
antimony
121.760
52
Te
tellurium
127.603
53
I
iodine
126.904
54
Xe
xenon
131.293
55
Cs
cesium
132.905
56
Ba
barium
137.327
57-71
72
Hf
hafnium
178.492
73
Ta
tantalum
180.948
74
W
tungsten
183.841
75
Re
rhenium
186.207
76
Os
osmium
190.233
77
Ir
iridium
192.217
78
Pt
platinum
195.084
79
Au
gold
196.966
80
Hg
mercury
200.592
81
Tl
thallium
204.383
82
Pb
lead
207.21
83
Bi
bismuth
208.980
84
Po
polonium
[209]
85
At
astatine
[210]
86
Rn
radon
[222]
87
Fr
francium
[223]
88
Ra
radium
[226]
89-103
104
Rf
rutherfordium
[261]
105
Db
dubnium
[262]
106
Sg
seaborgium
[266]
107
Bh
bohrium
[26.4]
108
Hs
hassium
[277]
109
Mt
meitnerium
[268]
110
Ds
darmstadtium
[271]
111
Rg
roentgenium
[272]
112
Cn
copernicium
[285.17]
113
Nh
nihonium
[286]
114
Fl
flerovium
[289]
115
Mc
moscovium
[290]
116
Lv
livermorium
[293]
117
Ts
Tennessine
[294]
118
Og
Oganesson
[294]
57
La
lanthanum
138.905
58
Ce
cerium
140.116
59
Pr
praseodymium
140.908
60
Nd
neodymium
144.242
61
Pm
promethium
[145]
62
Sm
samarium
150.362
63
Eu
europium
151.964
64
Gd
gadolinium
157.253
65
Tb
terbium
158.925
66
Dy
dysprosium
162.500
67
Ho
holmium
164.930
68
Er
erbium
167.256
69
Tm
thulium
168.934
70
Yb
ytterbium
173.043
71
Lu
lutetium
174.968
89
Ac
actinium
[227]
90
Th
thorium
232.038
91
Pa
protactinium
231.036
92
U
uranium
238.029
93
Np
neptunium
[237]
94
Pu
plutonium
[244]
95
Am
americium
[243]
96
Cm
curium
[247]
97
Bk
berkelium
[247]
98
Cf
californium
[251]
99
Es
einsteinium
[252]
100
Fm
fermium
[257.10]
101
Md
mendelevium
[258]
102
No
nobelium
[259]
103
Lr
lawrencium
[262]
Light rare earths
Heavy rare earths
Scandium
GMDC’s Portfolio Includes High Purity Light Rare Earth Oxides
Neodymium and praseodymium are integral to making the strongest magnets—permanent magnets; critical for motors in EVs and wind turbines.
Lanthanum is primarily used in the catalytic cracking process in the petroleum industry, electronics and optics industries, and batteries for hybrid cars.
Cerium finds its application as a catalytic converter in the automotive industry, polishing powder for glass products, and electrical components.
We aim to develop an end-to-end REE value chain from rare earth mining, processing, separation, and end-product manufacturing. We are coming up with one of the world’s top rare earths processing hubs in India. The hub will bring together the entire REE value chain and enable players to engage in downstream activities across industries such as metals and alloys, NdFeB magnets, electric motors, glass, and optical glass manufacturing in India.
Mining and Beneficiation at Ambadungar
GMDC is developing one of the world’s largest rare earth deposits at Ambadungar, a village in Chota Udepur district of Gujarat. The development consists of an open pit mine, processing plants, tailings storage facility, water supply, bulk power supply, mine infrastructure, workshops, offices, modern residential facilities with a best-in-class living ecosystem.
Our Ambadungar deposits contain light rare earth elements or LREE’s which are critical minerals for most economies globally. The ore will be mined from an open-pit mine and transferred for processing through crushing, milling, conditioning and floatation to form a mixed rare earth concentrate.
Separation and Integrated Downstream Manufacturing at Bharuch
The mixed rare earth carbonate produced at Ambadungar will be transferred to our separation plant in our REE hub at Bharuch. The end-result from this separation process will be the valuable rare earth oxides – Nd, Pr, La, Ce.
These separated oxides will be converted into metals and further used in manufacturing products such as catalysts for catalytic cracking as well as rare earth magnets –which serve as the cornerstone for global transition to clean energy and mobility.
