Highlights
- India proposes comprehensive Mine-to-Magnet (M2M) strategy to reduce dependence on China for critical heavy rare earth elements.
- The roadmap aims to transform India from a raw material importer to a vertically integrated magnet-manufacturing power.
- Strategic plan addresses urgent national security and technological needs in defense, electric vehicle, and renewable energy sectors.
Proposed as a bold move to break its dependence on China for critical heavy rare earth elements (HREEs), a prominent India engineering executive has unveiled a comprehensive Mine-to-Magnet (M2M) roadmap centered on securing domestic and international supply chains for dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb). These two strategic elements are indispensable to India’s defense, electric vehicle (EV), and renewable energy sectors, but the country currently lacks extractable reserves and processing capabilities, rendering it dangerously exposed.
The new white paper (opens in a new tab) is authored by Debi Prasad Ghosh (opens in a new tab) of Larsen & Toubro, and outlines a four-pillar M2M strategy aiming to transform India from a raw material importer into a vertically integrated, magnet-manufacturing power. The plan is both urgent and ambitious, launched in response to China’s April 2025 export control regime, which has already begun choking India’s access to Dy and Tb — elements essential for producing Terfenol-D alloy and high-temperature Nd-Fe-B magnets.
The author is a Deputy General (Civil) for Mumbai-based Larsen & Toubro Limited (opens in a new tab), one of India’s largest and most respected private sector companies. With over 80 years of a strong, customer-focused approach and a continuous quest for world-class quality, L&T has unmatched capabilities across Technology, Engineering, Construction, and Manufacturing, and maintains a leadership in all its major lines of business.
Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx), based in Salt Lake City, USA, suggests that the Trump administration review this article and the underlying paper (opens in a new tab) for some of its important concepts.
India’s HREE Crisis: Strategic Exposure
Despite ranking fifth globally in rare earth reserves, India extracts virtually no dysprosium or terbium domestically. The country relies on China for nearly 90% of its rare earth imports, a vulnerability that has come into sharp focus as Chinese export licenses have been delayed or denied following trade tensions. Without Dy and Tb, production of missile actuators, EV drivetrains, and wind turbine generators is at risk of collapse.
The Four Pillars of India’s M2M Strategy
Source: REEx
Hard Realities: Technological and Economic Hurdles
The roadmap is realistic about India’s steep climb. It highlights the lack of domestic refining facilities, the absence of Terfenol-D production, and a shortage of skilled metallurgists. High capital costs, long mine development timelines, and environmental hurdles—especially those involving radioactive thorium in monazite sands—also pose significant challenges.
Policy Urgency
The paper recommends immediate government action: a strategic Dy/Tb stockpile, a Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for magnet manufacturing, and regulatory sandboxes to pilot green HREE processing. A National HREE Security Council is also proposed to coordinate this multi-ministerial effort.
REEx Take
This M2M blueprint represents more than just a proposed mineral policy; it is an industrial and geopolitical strategy. With China weaponizing its dominance of Dy and Tb, India has no choice but to act. This roadmap offers a structured, mission-driven approach to dismantle its rare earth dependency, fortify its defense and energy sectors, and emerge as a self-reliant technology leader.
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