The actuators that move an aircraft's control surfaces, its generators and radar, and missile fin actuators all use samarium-cobalt or NdFeB magnets - small tonnages, but supply has to be secure.
State-owned miner and processor of beach-sand minerals and India's only large rare-earth separator; supplies NdPr oxide to the three lowest scheme bidders
Strengths
Holds the monazite: beach-sand plants in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Odisha, rare-earth extraction in Odisha and separation at Aluva (Kerala)
Policy anchor of the whole chain - the scheme's 500-tonne oxide allocation runs through it
Risks
Not investable: a fully government-owned company under the Department of Atomic Energy
Output is small - roughly 400-500 tonnes of neodymium a year (Reuters, Aug 2025)
Background
Central PSU under the Department of Atomic Energy
NdPr oxide capacity 400 tonnes a year plus about 500 tonnes of stock (REPM notification, Dec 2025)
Compiled from public reporting — not exchange-listed.
Where it fits
Aircraft, missile and defence-electronics makers build magnets into actuators, motors, sensors and microwave tubes. IREL has been setting up a small samarium-cobalt magnet facility at Visakhapatnam for strategic users.
Why it matters
China's export licences rule out defence end-uses, and from 1 Jan 2027 US defence rules bar magnets mined or processed in China anywhere in the chain. A domestic magnet base is a strategic need, even if the volumes are tiny next to EVs.
Where the value pool sits
Very small tonnages at high prices. For listed defence majors, magnets are a minor bill-of-materials item; the benefit is supply assurance and indigenisation scores, not revenue.
Key drivers
Indigenisation lists and Make in India defence procurement
Missile, radar and aircraft production rates
Potential bottlenecks
Samarium-cobalt and heavy-rare-earth grades are not made at scale in India