Singareni Collieries to launch pilot plant for rare earth extraction

SCCL has signed an agreement with NFTDC to establish a pilot plant in Kothagudem for identifying and extracting Rare Earth Elements from overburden soil and fly ash. The initiative marks a strategic move into the critical minerals sector under the State government’s guidance.

Peddapalli: As part of its business diversification strategy, Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has taken a major step towards entering the critical minerals sector by deciding to set up an experimental plant for the identification and extraction of Rare Earth Elements (REEs) within its operational areas.

The company signed an agreement with the Government of India’s premier research organisation, the Non-Ferrous Materials Technology Development Centre (NFTDC), at Singareni Bhavan in Hyderabad on Thursday. SCCL Chairman and Managing Director N Balram signed the agreement on behalf of the company, while NFTDC Director Balasubramanian represented the organisation.

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Explaining the initiative, Balram said that under the directions of the State government, SCCL was accelerating its business expansion efforts. As part of this, the company will establish a pilot plant at Kothagudem to identify and extract REEs available in the Singareni region, with technical assistance from NFTDC.

He said the pilot plant will analyse and process REEs found in Singareni’s overburden soil, fly ash generated from its thermal power plants, and other waste materials. Experimental production of these elements will also be carried out. Based on the concentration levels, production feasibility, and commercial viability, SCCL will later explore the possibility of setting up large-scale plants.

Senior NFTDC officials said they had already initiated research within Singareni areas and identified traces of key minerals in both the overburden soil and fly ash from the company’s thermal power plants. The upcoming pilot plant would help generate comprehensive data and insights on the availability of these minerals, they said.