Bhubaneswar: National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), the Navratna public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Mines, has stepped up its research and development efforts to convert industrial waste into valuable resources, with a particular focus on critical minerals and rare earth elements.
The company has inaugurated an indigenous pilot plant at its NALCO Research & Technology Centre (NRTC) in Bhubaneswar for processing bituminous coal fly ash and recovering multiple value-added products, including rare earth elements.
The 50-kg-per-day pilot facility has been designed and established by CSIR-IMMT and KIIT with support from NALCO, CSIR and the Ministry of Mines. The facility is based on a jointly patented process developed by CSIR-IMMT and NALCO for the holistic utilisation of coal fly ash.
The technology is designed to recover alumina, calcium silicate, quartz residue and iron hydroxide residue enriched with rare earth elements, including scandium. These materials have applications across industries such as ceramics, glassmaking and advanced technology.
The initiative comes at a time when critical minerals and rare earth elements are gaining strategic importance globally. Rare earth elements are essential for several high-technology and strategic sectors, including electric mobility, renewable energy, electronics, permanent magnets and defence.
NALCO also held the ground-breaking ceremony for another pilot plant focused on the valorisation of bauxite residue, commonly known as red mud. The proposed facility will explore the recovery of ferro-titanium alloy, metallic iron and rare earth elements from red mud.
According to NALCO, the fly ash pilot plant is expected to generate sufficient rare-earth-element concentrate for further research into mixed rare earth recovery and separation. This could help in developing downstream value-added products and integrated recovery pathways for critical minerals.
NALCO CMD Brijendra Pratap Singh said the company is leveraging research, innovation and strategic partnerships to convert industrial residues into valuable resources. He highlighted pilot-scale validation of indigenous technologies as an important step towards developing commercially viable solutions.
The initiative also reflects a broader shift towards a circular economy, where industrial by-products are increasingly viewed not simply as waste but as potential sources of economically and strategically important materials.
For Odisha, the development is particularly significant as Bhubaneswar-based research institutions such as CSIR-IMMT and KIIT are becoming partners in technology development aimed at strengthening India’s critical-mineral ecosystem.
With the new pilot facilities, NALCO is looking to bridge the gap between laboratory research and commercial-scale resource recovery, potentially opening new avenues for sustainable industrial production and domestic critical-mineral security.
