Odisha unveils India's first platinum group metals extraction plant

Pilot facility aims to build domestic capability in platinum group metals extraction, reducing import dependence amid rising global focus on critical minerals

Amid growing global attention over critical minerals and intensifying competition to secure strategic resources, Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) has set up the country’s first pilot plant for extracting platinum group metals (PGMs) from mineral ore.

 

Set up at the Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT), Bhubaneswar, in collaboration with South Africa’s mineral-technology institution Mintek, the ~10 crore pilot project, commissioned on Monday, is aimed at building India’s first integrated ecosystem for beneficiation (the treatment of raw materials), smelting, and refining of PGMs.

 

The project assumes national significance because PGMs — platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, osmium, and ruthenium — are indispensable for a range of sunrise and strategic sectors, including clean-energy technologies, hydrogen fuel cells, electronics, catalytic converters, defence systems, medical equipment, petrochemical processing, and advanced manufacturing, besides jewellery. 

 

OMC officials said, as part of the pilot project, PGMs would be extracted from ore sourced from Bangur chromite mines, Keonjhar.

 

The one-tonne-per-hour pilot plant will now be used to validate the consistency, recovery rates, and scalability of PGM concentrate under real-time operating conditions before moving to commercial-scale development. 

With global supply heavily concentrated in a few countries, India has so far relied on imports for these metals.

 

Globally PGM reserves are estimated at around 71,000 tonnes, of which South Africa alone accounts for nearly 89 per cent, followed by Russia with 8 per cent, Zimbabwe 2 per cent, and the United States 1 per cent. 

Studies have found that the chromite belt of Odisha is rich in platinum and palladium.

 

According to the recently released Indian Minerals Year Book, 2023, of the estimated 20.92 tonnes of PGM resources identified in the country, Odisha accounts for 68 per cent, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 13 per cent, Tamil Nadu 8 per cent, Karnataka 7 per cent, and Kerala 1 per cent.

 

The state’s chromite-bearing belts, particularly in Keonjhar and Jajpur districts, are now seen as a major opportunity to reduce import dependence and develop indigenous capabilities in processing critical minerals.

The Baula-Nausahi, a 3-km-long belt (in Keonjhar), 170 km northeast of Bhubaneswar, has the only proven PGM deposits in the country with an estimated 14.2 tonnes, confined to the active chromite mines.

 

Apart from it, rare elements are found in Sittampundi in Tamil Nadu, and the Shivamogga schist belt in Karnataka.

 

According to officials, this stage is crucial in establishing techno-economic viability and creating the road map for a fully integrated domestic PGM industry.

 

“Laboratory studies have demonstrated that a low-grade feed ore assaying 3.8 grams per tonne (five PGMs plus gold) can be successfully upgraded through beneficiation. Based on these findings, OMC has recommended further studies in collaboration with international agencies for downstream refining technologies,” an official told Business Standard.

 

The project has been designed in two phases. Phase I includes mineral liberation analysis by Mintek, pilot-scale beneficiation studies at the IMMT, validating concentrate quality consistency, and preparing the first detailed project report (DPR) for a beneficiation plant.

 

Phase II will focus on smelting and refining feasibility studies by Mintek, expanded pilot-scale trials and preparing the second DPR for extracting refined PGMs.

 

If commercialised, Odisha could become the nucleus of India’s first PGMs and a key contributor to the country’s critical mineral security, officials added.

 

Platinum, one of the rarest metals in the earth’s crust with an average concentration of only 0.005 parts per million, is prized for its corrosion resistance and catalytic efficiency.

 

It is used in phosphoric acid fuel cells for electricity generation, improves storage performance in computer hard disks, mobile phones, and digital cameras, and plays a key role in hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles.

 

Palladium and rhodium are widely used in automobile-emission control systems, while ruthenium and iridium are critical in electronics and high-end industrial equipment.