In India, rare earth elements (REEs) are primarily processed by Indian

Rare Earths Limited (IREL). IREL, a public sector undertaking under the
Department of Atomic Energy, is responsible for producing high-purity rare
earth oxides from monazite, a REE-bearing mineral. The process
involves integrated mining and processing of mineral sands, followed by
extraction and refining of rare earths. IREL has facilities in multiple
locations, including Odisha and Aluva, Kerala.

Here's a more detailed breakdown of the process:

1. 1. Mining and Mineral Processing:
IREL undertakes mining operations, typically preceded by economic feasibility
studies. The mined ore undergoes beneficiation, a process that uses techniques
like flotation, gravity, magnetic, and electrostatic separation to concentrate the rare
earth minerals.
2. 2. REE Extraction:
Monazite is the primary source of REEs in India, and IREL processes it to produce
rare earth chlorides and other products. For higher purity individual rare earths, ion
exchange and solvent extraction are employed.
3. 3. Separation and Refining:
Solvent extraction involves using organic extractants to selectively load REEs,
which are then separated and recovered. For large-scale extraction, mixer-settlers
are commonly used. Ion exchange is also used for separating individual rare
earths.
4. 4. Metal Extraction and Alloy Making:
While India has developed capabilities for metal extraction, the establishment of
industrial-scale facilities for alloy making and further downstream processing, like
magnet production, is still limited.
5. 5. Research and Development:
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is also involved in research related
to REE extraction, including developing environmentally friendly methods for
extracting REEs from waste materials like red mud.
Key Organizations Involved:
 Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL): The primary entity responsible for REE mining,
processing, and production of high-purity rare earth oxides.
 Department of Atomic Energy (DAE): Oversees IREL and is involved in research
related to REEs.
 Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC): Conducts research on REE extraction
and processing.
 Geological Survey of India (GSI): Carrying out exploration projects to augment
REE resources.
 Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD): Also involved
in exploration to identify and quantify REE resources.

PROCESS

Rare earth (RE) mineral deposits are typically processed using several
different unit operations including flotation, gravity, magnetic and
electrostatic separation techniques. Two of the most important
beneficiation techniques for RE minerals are gravity and magnetic
separation. Many RE minerals are found alongside low specific
gravity gangue minerals thereby permitting the use of gravity
separations to concentrate the heavy value RE minerals. Magnetic
separation is used primarily to remove ferromagnetic gangue minerals as
well as to separate individual paramagnetic rare earth minerals.
This work investigated the use of a wet high intensity magnetic
separation (WHIMS) in conjunction with gravity pre-concentration steps
(Knelson and Falcon centrifugal concentrators) to beneficiate a rare
earth ore. The results of these separation steps are related to the
magnetic properties of RE minerals, based on literature and
measurements conducted using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM).

Most RE mineral deposits are beneficiated through a combination of unit

operations such as gravity concentration, magnetic separation and froth
flotation. Due to their relatively high specific gravities (between 4 and 7) gravity
separation can be used to concentrate RE minerals by eliminating low specific
gravity gangue minerals such as quartz (Ferron et al., 1991). In the context of
RE mineral beneficiation, magnetic separation is typically used for two
purposes: low intensity magnetic separation is used to remove ferromagnetic
gangue minerals such as iron oxides and high intensity magnetic separation is
used to separate monazite and xenotime from other heavy minerals
Gravity separation is used in mineral processing to separate minerals based on
differences in specific gravity. The most common and successful type of gravity
separator used for fine particle sizes is a centrifugal gravity concentrator.
The Falcon Ultra-Fine (UF) Concentrator is designed specifically to process very
fine particle sizes. It lacks the fluidizing water used in other centrifugal
concentrators; instead relying on the geometry of the bowl walls to retain the
high specific gravity material.
 Magnetic separation of minerals is based on different behaviours of mineral
particles when in an applied magnetic field. The magnetic recovery in a
magnetic separator is dependent on the applied magnetic field strength, the
magnetic field gradient and the magnetic susceptibility of the mineral particles
and accompanying fluid medium.

LEAD_ZINC PROCESSING
Lead and zinc processing in India generally involves beneficiation (ore
dressing) followed by smelting and refining. Beneficiation includes
crushing, grinding, flotation, and dehydration to separate the lead and zinc
minerals from the ore. Smelting then extracts the metals from the
concentrated minerals, and refining further purifies them.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:

1. Beneficiation (Ore Dressing):

 Crushing and Grinding:
The ore is first crushed and then ground into a fine powder to liberate the valuable
minerals.
 Flotation:
This process separates the lead and zinc sulfides from the waste rock. Collectors
and frothers are added to the slurry, allowing the mineral particles to attach to air
bubbles and float to the surface, forming a concentrate.
 Dehydration:
The concentrate is then dewatered, typically using thickeners and filters, to reduce
the moisture content.
2. Smelting:
 Lead Smelting:
Lead concentrates are typically smelted using a blast furnace or a more modern
process like the Imperial Smelting Process. This involves heating the concentrate
with other materials (like coke and flux) to produce molten lead and slag.
 Zinc Smelting:
Zinc concentrates are often roasted to form zinc oxide, which is then leached with
sulfuric acid to create a zinc sulfate solution. This solution is purified and then
subjected to electrolysis to produce metallic zinc.
3. Refining:
 Lead Refining:
Molten lead from the smelting process is further refined to remove impurities and
produce high-purity lead.
 Zinc Refining:
The electrolytic process used in zinc smelting also serves as a refining process,
producing high-purity zinc ingots.
Other processes:
 Leaching:
This process involves dissolving the metal from the ore using a solvent. It's used in
some zinc and lead processing methods.
 Roasting:
This process is used in zinc processing to convert zinc sulfide concentrates to zinc
oxide.
The specific processes and technologies used can vary depending on the
characteristics of the ore body, the desired purity of the final products, and
the scale of the operation. The Imperial Smelting Process (ISP) is used in
India.

PGE PROCESSING
Platinum group elements (PGEs) processing in India primarily
involves refining from nickel and copper ores, as they are often found as
byproducts in these processes. The process includes several stages like
crushing and milling, froth flotation to concentrate the PGEs, smelting, and
finally, chemical refining to achieve high purity.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:

1. Mining and Ore Preparation:

 PGEs are typically mined from poly-metallic sulfide ores, often alongside nickel and copper,
using both underground and open-pit methods.

 The mined ore is then crushed and milled into a fine powder to liberate the PGE-bearing
minerals.
2. Concentration:
 Froth Flotation: The crushed ore is mixed with water and chemicals to create a slurry. Air is
blown through the mixture, causing PGE-bearing minerals to attach to the air bubbles and
float to the surface, forming a froth.

 This froth is skimmed off, separating the PGEs from the bulk of the waste material.
3. Smelting:
 The concentrated PGEs are then smelted at high temperatures to further refine the material.
 This process involves melting the concentrate and creating a matte, which is a mixture of
PGEs and other metals like copper and nickel.
4. Chemical Refining:
 The matte is further refined through various hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical
techniques to separate and purify the individual PGEs.

 These techniques may include leaching with acids or other chemicals, precipitation, and
solvent extraction to isolate and purify the desired metals.

 For example, PGEs can be dissolved in aqua regia (a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric
acids), and then precipitated out using ammonium chloride.

 The precipitated salts are then heated to form pure metallic PGEs.
5. Final Purification:
 The purified PGEs are then further refined to achieve the high purity levels required for
various industrial applications, often exceeding 99.95%.

 This may involve additional rounds of chemical treatment, precipitation, and filtration.
Key Companies and Facilities:
 Hindustan Platinum:

This company is involved in the refining of precious metals in India, including PGEs,
producing metals with purity levels over 99.95%.

 Kiran Techno Services Private Limited (KTSPL):

This company manufactures platinum processing plants and offers turnkey solutions for
mineral processing plants.

 Boula–Nausahi:
This is the only proven PGE deposit in India, located in Odisha, according to the Indian
Bureau of Mines.