Stretching across Andhra Pradesh’s 974-km coastline, the state’s beaches hold far more than scenic views and fishing harbours. Beneath the dark, heavy sands—from Srikakulam in the north to Nellore in the south—lies one of India’s most valuable yet underutilised geological resources: vast reserves of rare earth minerals that could play a decisive role in the country’s clean-energy, defence and semiconductor ambitions.
These coastal sands are rich in monazite—the primary source of rare earth elements (REEs) and thorium—along with ilmenite, rutile, zircon, garnet and sillimanite, making Andhra Pradesh a significant repository of strategic minerals. What sets the state apart is not just the scale of its reserves but their quality. Monazite from this belt contains 55–60% rare earth oxides, among the highest grades globally, and 8–10% thorium, a potential fuel for India’s next-generation nuclear reactors.
The ore hosts a full spectrum of light rare earth elements, including lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, europium and gadolinium—critical inputs for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, missile guidance systems, satellites, fibre optics, superconductors and advanced medical equipment.
Geological surveys show that this mineral-rich belt forms an almost continuous corridor, with promising deposits at Bhimunipatnam, Kalingapatnam, Kakinada, Narsapur, Machilipatnam, Chirala, Vodarevu, Ramayapatnam and Dugarajapatnam. Estimates by the Atomic Minerals Directorate and Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) place India’s total reserves at over 300 million tonnes of heavy mineral sands, including 12–15 million tonnes of monazite—enough to meet 40–50% of domestic rare earth demand for decades. Andhra Pradesh alone is believed to hold 30–35% of India’s monazite reserves.
For years, these resources remained largely untapped due to atomic regulations, limited processing capacity and restrictive policies. But as global supply chains tighten and nations seek to reduce dependence on China—which controls nearly 85% of global REE processing—the strategic importance of Andhra’s coastline has come sharply into focus.
APMDC Accelerates Exploration
Sensing the opportunity, the Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) has intensified efforts to explore and monetise beach sand minerals. The Centre has allotted 16,000 hectares of mining leases to APMDC, one of the largest allocations to any state. Of this, operational clearance has been granted for 1,000 hectares, recently awarded to a private developer through open tender. The state has sought approval to open another 4,000 hectares and plans to fast-track operations across the remaining 11,000 hectares.
Crucially, the strategy now extends beyond mining. “We are focusing on downstream processing to make India self-reliant,” APMDC managing director Pravin Kumar told TOI. Exporting raw minerals, he noted, forces the country to import high-value products such as rare earth magnets and semiconductor components at a premium. The Centre’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, he said, could be transformative.
Currently, monazite processing is restricted to IREL, a central PSU governed by atomic mineral regulations. While private players can mine associated minerals, monazite must be handed over to IREL. To expand domestic refining capacity, IREL is setting up a 10,000-tonne-per-year monazite processing plant at Gudur in Nellore district, slated for commissioning in 2026. Once operational, it is expected to anchor India’s rare earth value chain.
Centre’s Policy Push
A major boost has come from the Centre’s National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM). Under this initiative, the ministry of mines has issued guidelines for pilot projects to recover critical minerals—including REEs—from mining waste, red mud, fly ash and industrial tailings. The programme provides funding of up to ₹100 crore from the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust for R&D and commercial pilots.
The mission targets securing supplies of 24 strategic minerals such as neodymium, dysprosium, yttrium and cobalt—essential for EV batteries, solar panels, wind turbines and defence systems. Pilot projects may receive up to 90% central funding, encouraging collaborations among PSUs, academia, startups and private miners.
This approach is particularly relevant for Andhra Pradesh, where decades of beach sand mining have generated vast tailings containing recoverable REEs, thorium and uranium. With improved technology and clearer regulations, these residues could become a major source of value.
Building on Existing Infrastructure
Andhra already has a base to build on. A private rare earth processing facility in Anantapur handles thousands of tonnes annually, while IREL operates a beach sand separation plant in Visakhapatnam. Officials estimate that reprocessing existing tailings alone could unlock an annual opportunity worth ₹5,000 crore.
“Our monazite reserves can yield dysprosium for EV magnets and terbium for high-performance turbines,” a senior mines and geology official said.
To ensure transparency, project proposals will be vetted by an inter-ministerial committee and technically evaluated by institutions such as IIT-Bombay, IIT-ISM Dhanbad and CSIR-IMMT Bhubaneswar. Implementation support will come from national research bodies, including the Anusandhan National Research Foundation.
Pilots in the Pipeline
The Andhra government is preparing proposals to recover rare earths from thermal power plant fly ash in Nellore and Krishnapatnam, where trace REEs are known to exist. Partnerships with IIT-Hyderabad, the National Mineral Processing Laboratory and other research institutions are being explored, particularly in bio-leaching and electrochemical extraction.
Scientists say modern technologies can achieve over 80% REE recovery from such tailings. According to experts, rapid scale-up under the NCMM framework could cut India’s import dependence from 95% to nearly 50% within five years.
With global demand for rare earths projected to rise tenfold by 2030, Andhra Pradesh is emerging as a strong contender to become India’s critical-mineral hub. As the first round of PLI-linked proposals is expected soon, what was once a quiet geological treasure along the coast may soon power India’s transition to clean energy, advanced electronics and strategic self-reliance.
