PARLIAMENT QUESTION: ENVIRONMENTAL SAFEGUARDS FOR HEAVY MINERAL SAND MINING AND RARE EARTH MINERALS

The Department of Atomic Energy’s Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) has identified a beach‑sand mineral (BSM) deposit in Pudupuram‑Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu containing 1.912 Mt of total heavy minerals, including monazite, ilmenite and zircon. To curb illegal beach‑sand mining and unauthorized export of strategic monazite, the Government has (i) amended the monazite threshold to 0.00 % under Ministry of Mines Notification G.S.R 134(E) (Feb 2019), (ii) routed BSM export through the State Trading Enterprise and IREL under DGFT Notification 26/2015‑2020 (Aug 2018), (iii) reinstated Monazite Test Certification for each export consignment, (iv) mandated registration and reporting of all mineral activities under Rule 45 of the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules 2017, (v) asked states to form task forces, and (vi) deployed the satellite‑based Mining Surveillance System. Radiation‑hazard safeguards include mandatory EIA with radiological surveys by BARC before lease issuance, back‑filling of mined land, and continuous monitoring by BARC’s Health Physics Unit.