The National Geophysical Research Institute in Hyderabad has reportedly discovered large deposits of 15 rare earth elements (REE) in the Anantapur district of India's Andhra Pradesh state.
The Indian government has yet to confirm the news.
An NGRI scientist told local media that they found REE while surveying non-traditional rocks, like syenites. These REE minerals include allanite, ceriate, thorite, columbite, tantalite, apatite, zircon, monazite, pyrochlore euxenite, and fluorite.
REEs are widely used in high technology because of their luminescent and catalytic properties.
These elements are also crucial for clean energy, aerospace, defense, in manufacturing permanent magnets — a key component of modern electronics — wind turbines, jet aircraft, and several other products.
The news came months after the Geological Survey of India (GSI) found about a 5.9-million-tonne reserve of lithium in the Jammu and Kashmir region.
In 2022, China produced more than two-thirds of the total rare earth elements.