Vedanta said it has entered into a pact with research institutes for value extraction from bauxite residue. Bauxite residue (red mud) is a by-product generated during the processing of bauxite into alumina using the Bayer process. It includes iron, alumina, rare earth elements (REE) and titanium dioxide. Bauxite is the primary ore for aluminium that undergoes an intermediate refining stage to produce alumina, which then undergoes electrolysis for producing aluminium.
About three tonnes of bauxite produce one tonne of alumina, and around two tonnes of alumina is required to produce one tonne of aluminium. “Under this MoU (memorandum of understanding), we aim to maximise value extraction from bauxite residue for further usage, downstream,” Rahul Sharma, deputy CEO (aluminium), Vedanta Ltd, said.
Abundantly available on earth’s crust, bauxite mining is one of the most sustainable mining processes. Creating indigenous capabilities for extraction of REEs from bauxite residue has been the brainchild of the NITI Aayog, given the importance of scandium for defence and its scarce availability in India. REEs include Scandium, Lanthanum, Cerium, and Yttrium.
As it is a voluminous by-product, bauxite residue requires scientific ways of managing it, and even more advanced methodologies to extract commercial value from it.
Along with peer aluminium producers, Vedanta has entered into the pact with three research institutes – CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory (NML), Jamshedpur; Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT), Bhubaneswar; and Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research, Development & Design Centre (JNARDDC), Nagpur.
As part of this, the institutes shall work together to develop technologies for bauxite residue utilisation like red mud beneficiation for REE enrichment, recovery of alumina values, recovery of iron values and process for extraction, and separation of titanium and REEs.
