Hyderabad-based National Geophysical Research Institute has found large deposits of 15 Rare Earth Elements (REE) in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district.
REEs (aka rare earth oxides) are a group of 17 silvery-white soft heavy metals that occur together in periodic table.
NGRI scientists conducted a survey looking for non-traditional rocks like syenites and successfully identified the host minerals.
The major REE identified included ceriate, allanite, thorite, tantalite, columbite, apatite, monazite, zircon, pyrochlore, euxenite, and fluorite.
A subfield of geology known as "metallogeny" studies the genetic connection between a region's geological past and its mineral deposits.
In the Anantapur district, west and southwest of the Paleoproterozoic Cuddapah basin, are the alkaline complexes.
Earlier this year, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) had found an estimated 5.9-million tonne lithium reserve in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir for the first time in the country.
Lithium is an essential mineral for the production of solar panels and electric vehicles .
REEs are used in high end technology, defence applications, electronic devices like cell-phones, computers, electric vehicle etc. because of their luminescent and catalytic properties.
