GMDC has entered into a strategic collaboration with the University of Cambridge to establish a Rare Earth Observatory at GMDC's International Centre of Excellence in Mining (iCEM). The observatory will use artificial intelligence to create an interactive platform that tracks the Rare Earth Elements (REE) value chain in real time from mine to magnet. It will monitor price movements, processing capacity, supply disruptions and geopolitical risk across global REE chains. The initiative aims to strengthen supply chain resilience and operational decision-making.

The programme combines GMDC's mining expertise with the Institute for Manufacturing at the University of Cambridge (IfM), whose Industrial Resilience Group is recognised for work on critical mineral supply chains, ESG integration and AI-driven analytics. Structured as a phased two-year programme with an investment of 600,000 pounds, the collaboration will deliver scalable operational intelligence tools. The partners aim to place Gujarat and India at the forefront of the rare earth supply chain resilience.

With India's rare earth consumption projected to double by 2030, driven by electric vehicles, renewable energy and defence, actionable real-time intelligence is a national strategic priority. The Observatory is designed to provide an evidence base for policy calibration, industrial procurement and strategic stockpiling decisions. Through iCEM, supported by GMDC, partners will have access to Cambridge's research tools and global network, integrating analytical capability with on-ground Indian mining operations. The collaboration is presented as advancing GMDC's evolution into a knowledge-driven enterprise.

GMDC's managing director indicated that rare earth elements are a sovereignty concern and described the observatory as a contribution to national capabilities by creating an AI-driven intelligence architecture for the REE value chain. The integration of Cambridge research with iCEM's operational depth is expected to scale operations and build strategic capabilities needed by the nation. GMDC, established in 1963, is a leading public sector mining and mineral processing enterprise expanding into critical minerals, coal, renewable energy and value-added projects.