Enervoxa eyes rare earth processing project in India
me-metals: The estimated cost of developing a commercial-scale facility ranges from $250m to $350m.
According to me-metals cited by mining-technology.com, Canada-based Enervoxa is assessing the possibility of building a rare earth processing plant in India and plans to hold talks with Vedanta, Hindalco Industries and state-run NALCO as potential partners.
The proposed facility would process rare earths from red mud, a waste product of aluminium manufacturing, Enervoxa CEO Vandit Verma told Reuters.
The estimated cost of developing a commercial-scale facility ranges from $250m (C$352.59m) to $350m, with funding potentially coming from a mix of equity and project financing.
Enervoxa is considering locations in eastern India for the facility.
Extracting rare earth elements from bauxite residue remains a relatively recent commercial application and has attracted attention due to concerns about China’s dominance in global rare earths processing.
Rare earths are used in products such as electric vehicle motors, mobile phones and defence technologies.
India holds considerable rare earth reserves but currently lacks industrial-scale facilities for producing these elements at high purity.
Enervoxa, which has spent eight years developing its recovery process, aims to introduce this method to the Indian market.
Beyond aluminium producers, the company also intends to engage with engineering companies, steel-makers and critical minerals processors to help establish an integrated value chain.
Red mud can also yield coagulants, iron oxide, pigments and titanium-bearing materials.
The company also intends to seek assistance from the Indian Government.
Last year, the government stated that the Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre and other stakeholders under the NITI Aayog think tank were examining methods of metal and rare earth extraction from red mud.
Enervoxa’s plans may involve either fully processing red mud within India or creating rare earth concentrate for further downstream refining.
The company is looking at options in other alumina-producing areas as well as India.
source: mining-technology.com
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