Singareni Collieries to set up geochemical lab for analysis of rare earth elements

SCCL, which has expanded its operations beyond coal excavation into power generation, is setting up a Geochemical Laboratory in Kothagudem at a cost of Rs.15 crore. The lab will specialise in analysing rare earth elements (REEs) and critical minerals found in the company’s coal mines and power plants.

Peddapalli: Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), which is diversifying into new sectors, has decided to establish a Geochemical Laboratory for analysing critical and Rare Earth Elements (REE) found in its coal mines.

The laboratory, to be set up at a cost of Rs.15 crore in Kothagudem, will be housed in the old collectorate office building. Since most of the machinery has to be imported, Rs.10-12 crore has been earmarked for equipment procurement, while the remaining funds will be utilised for recruitment and related requirements.

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The laboratory will be equipped with Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICPMS), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD).

Having started with coal excavation, SCCL has expanded into power generation (thermal and solar) and is now venturing into the critical minerals sector. Recently, the company secured an exploration licence for gold and copper blocks in Devadurga, Karnataka, through an auction conducted by the Union Ministry of Mines.

Though SCCL has Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT), Bhubaneswar, and NFTDC, Hyderabad, for mineral analysis, it has now opted to set up its own laboratory.

The new facility will analyse samples of coal clay, fly ash, bottom ash and other materials collected from SCCL coal mines and power plants, as well as gold and copper ore samples from Devadurga, officials of the exploration department said.

Preliminary studies have already indicated the presence of REEs in coal seams and overburden layers within Singareni mines. Fly ash from the Singareni Thermal Power Plant analysed at IMMT laboratories in Bhubaneswar confirmed REE content. Critical minerals and REEs have also been reported from forest areas of Kalluru in Khammam district.

Carbonatites are considered the primary source of rare earth elements and niobium. At Ramagundam Open Cast Mine-II and the Singareni Thermal Power Plant, both fly ash and bottom ash samples revealed the presence of light and heavy REEs.

Notably, 14 elements including cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, praseodymium, gadolinium, dysprosium and lutetium were identified. Research by the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad, also found vanadium, strontium and zirconium in samples from Ramagundam OCP-II.

To strengthen technical support for exploration of critical minerals, SCCL has signed an MoU with IMMT, a subsidiary of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).