Midwest Limited has been selected as the lead consortium partner by Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd for a pilot plant and technology development project focused on rare earth elements. The company said the move advances its diversification strategy and supports national self?reliance in critical minerals.\n\nThe pilot will process monazite?rich tailings to produce rare earth mixed compounds and separate individual rare earth elements. The scope includes mineral processing to yield a high?purity monazite concentrate of at least ninety six per cent, extraction of rare earth mixed compounds of at least ninety nine per cent, downstream separation, pilot plant design and optimisation, research and development, regulatory compliance and data management. The initiative aims to strengthen domestic capabilities in the rare earth value chain.\n\nThe facility is scheduled to be commissioned within six months of approvals, extendable by up to three months for additional research and development, and the company will provide one hundred per cent of the capital. Commercial production will be carried out by KMML through a joint venture using process know?how from the pilot, with Midwest offered the right of first refusal. KMML will support the project with up to 50 t of monazite tailings, two acres of leased land free of cost, power and water for construction, one unfurnished office room with electricity for research and development and facilitation of statutory clearances.\n\nMidwest, a quartz processor and one of India’s largest producers of Black Galaxy and Absolute Black granite, has over four decades of expertise and has expanded into quartz processing and heavy mineral sands exploration. Its Phase I plant has a capacity of 0.3036 million (mn) metric tonnes per annum and Phase II will seek to double that capacity while the group develops rare earth element processing capabilities. The company noted that certain statements are forward?looking and subject to risks and uncertainties.