According to Mining Weekly, the Indian government has asked the country's only rare earth miner, Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL), to halt exports and focus on meeting domestic demand instead.
Reuters reported that Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal recently urged IREL to stop exporting rare earths, particularly neodymium, during a meeting with executives from the automotive and other industries.
One particularly concerning agreement is between the Indian and Japanese governments, which requires IREL to supply rare earths to Toyota Tsusho Corporation. Toyota Tsusho's rare earth subsidiary in India processes these materials and exports them to Japan.
At the end of last year, the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), a think tank based in Washington, D.C., praised the IREL-Toyota agreement as a model for the US to emulate.
"Since IREL is a state-owned enterprise in India, it can serve as a significant strategic partner," argued Akshat Singh, a fellow at CSIS.
A Reuters source stated that due to a lack of domestic processing capacity, IREL had been exporting rare earth ores. However, due to changes in the international situation, the focus has now shifted to domestic mining and processing. The source added that IREL is awaiting statutory approvals for four mines.
Nevertheless, the source cautioned that India would not immediately halt exports to Japan due to bilateral agreements between the two governments.
IREL hopes that the matter "can be resolved through friendly negotiations, as Japan is a friendly country."
Prior to the announcement of India's rare earth strategy, the country launched the "National Critical Mineral Mission" earlier this year, aligning with the goals of the "Viksit Bharat" (Developed India) initiative. The mission aims to ensure a reliable supply of critical minerals for India's green energy transition and other strategic sectors.
Last month, D.K. Srivastava, Chief Policy Advisor at EY India, stated that rare earths are crucial for India's growth.
"Any shortage will become a substantial bottleneck for growth and employment. To achieve India's vision of becoming a 'developed country,' the (Atmanirbhar Bharat, or self-reliant India) strategy calls for the development and control of rare earth element mining and processing," he said.
"India has abundant rare earth resources. What is needed now is to accelerate rare earth mining and develop domestic rare earth processing technologies."
"Looking ahead, substantial additional investment from the central and state governments, as well as the private sector, will be required for R&D in the rare earth sector."In addition, it is necessary to establish strategic partnerships with countries known to have abundant rare earth reserves, such as Myanmar, Vietnam, Brazil, South Africa, and Tanzania."
According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), global rare earth production in 2024 was 390,000 mt. Among them, India's rare earth production was 2,900 mt, ranking seventh in the world.
India's rare earth reserves are 9.6 million mt, ranking third in the world.
