Rare Earth Minerals

Rare Earth Minerals / Rush for Rare Earth

The union ministry of environment, forest and climate change agreed to a request by the Ministry of mines, seeking that clearances to private companies for mining beach sand minerals (rare earth minerals) be spotted.

What are rare earth minerals?

• Rare earths are a series of chemical elements found in the earth's crust that are vital to many modern technologies, including consumer electronics, computers and networks, communications, clean energy, advanced transportation, health care, environmental mitigation, national defense and many others.
• Because of their unique magnetic, luminescent and electrochemical properties, these elements help make many technologies perform with reduced weight, reduced emission, and energy consumption or give them greater efficiency, performance, miniaturization, speed, durability and thermal stability.
• Along with these one other important constituent of beach sand mineral is Monazite. Monazite is the primary ore for thorium, a nuclear fuel. Its presence brings beach sand mining under the atomic minerals concession rules.

Mining rules for atomic mining:

• The state governments were given permission to grant mineral concessions, where Monazite is less than the prescribed threshold values to the private sector by auction or competitive bidding, in accordance with the atomic minerals concession rules,2016.
• However in a notification this threshold limit was reduced to o%. As monatize is found in various concentration in all the beaches, this amendment essentially meant a ban on mining by private companies.

Problems caused by beach sand mining:

👉Destruction of natural beaches and the ecosystems they protect (e.g dunes, wetlands)

👉Habitat loss for globally important species (e.g turtles, shorebirds)

👉Destruction of nearshore marine ecosystems.

👉Increased shoreline erosion rates, reduced protection from storms, tsunamis and wave events.

👉Economic losses through tourist abandonment and loss of coastal aesthetics.