Abstract
In the pre-independence era, a chance discovery of monazite in Kerala led to its exploitation for the benefit of Europe. Recognizing the importance of rare earth minerals for the Indian nuclear program, Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL), a central government undertaking was incorporated in 1950 to process minerals for the production of rare earths and extraction of thorium. This article describes the genesis and achievements of IREL over the past seven decades, highlighting IREL's contribution to the development of nuclear power industry in India. Having established production facilities for the present requirements of Indian nuclear program, IREL is implementing projects to meet requirements of other strategic applications such as rare earth magnets, and to establish plants to bring new products to the value chain.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mishra, A. (2024). History of Indian Rare Earths Limited. In: Divakar, R., Murty, S.V.S.N., Srikanth, S., Gokhale, A.A. (eds) Indian Metallurgy. Indian Institute of Metals Series. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-5060-7_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-5060-7_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-99-5059-1
Online ISBN: 978-981-99-5060-7
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)