Exciting news has recently emerged in the scientific community regarding the discovery of large deposits of rare earth elements (REE) in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district. The Hyderabad-based National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) announced this discovery, which includes 15 REE minerals, including allanite, ceriate, thorite, and columbite. These minerals are vital components that are widely used in various industrial and daily-use applications, including clean energy, aerospace, defense, electronics, and manufacturing of permanent magnets.

NGRI scientists discovered these rare earth elements during a survey for non-traditional rocks, such as syenites. These elements have significant implications for metallogeny, and their assessment is currently ongoing at alkaline syenite complexes in Andhra Pradesh.

According to NGRI scientist PV Sunder Raju, further feasibility studies are expected to be carried out through deep drilling to gain more insight into these rare earth elements. Additionally, 300 samples were analyzed to assess the potential of REE minerals. The scientists also revisited several alkaline syenite deposits to search for REE-bearing minerals, including locations such as Dancherla, Peddavaduguru, Danduvaripalle, Reddypalle Chintalchervu, and the Pulikonda complex in the Anantapur and Chittoor districts.

This exciting news comes on the heels of the discovery of an estimated 5.9 million tonne reserve of lithium in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district. With these discoveries, India could become a leading player in the global rare earths and lithium market, enabling it to support its growing economy's technological development.

The discovery of the rare earth elements is a significant achievement for NGRI scientists and India's scientific community and could pave the way for more discoveries that will transform the country's technological landscape.