NdPr oxide is reduced to metal in molten-salt electrolysis cells, then melted with iron and boron and strip-cast into the alloy flakes magnet plants grind up.
Metal makers convert oxide to NdPr metal; alloy makers melt it with iron, boron and small additions (cobalt, dysprosium) and cast thin alloy strips. The scheme expects winners to do this in-house as part of an integrated plant.
India has almost no commercial oxide-to-metal capacity today - the Cabinet itself said the country lacks large-scale plants for oxide-to-metal, metal-to-alloy and alloy-to-magnet. Without this step, oxide from IREL cannot become an Indian magnet.
A narrow, specialised step whose value will mostly sit inside the integrated magnet makers. Government labs (BARC, NFTDC) hold the technology and are licensing it to industry.