In Brief
- Fly Ash Plant: NALCO inaugurated a 50-kg/day indigenous pilot facility in Bhubaneswar to extract alumina, quartz, and scandium-rich rare earth concentrates from coal fly ash.
- Red Mud Plant: Held a groundbreaking ceremony for a secondary pilot plant to recover ferro-titanium alloy, metallic iron, and REE concentrates from bauxite residue.
- Partners: Developed in collaboration with CSIR-IMMT, KIIT, and the Ministry of Mines.
NALCO has launched two pilot-scale initiatives at its Research and Technology Centre in Bhubaneswar to extract rare earth elements (REEs) and value-added products from industrial residues.
NALCO CMD Brijendra Pratap Singh inaugurated an indigenous 50-kg/day fly ash processing facility—developed using a jointly patented process with CSIR-IMMT and KIIT—to recover alumina, calcium silicate, quartz, and scandium-enriched rare earth residues. Simultaneously, the company broke ground on a bauxite residue (red mud) pilot plant aimed at extracting ferro-titanium alloys, metallic iron, and mixed rare earth concentrates.
The initiatives mark a key step toward recycling industrial by-products, boosting circular economy efforts, and securing domestic sources for critical minerals used in electronics, clean energy, and defence.
