Western Coalfields Limited (WCL), headquartered in Nagpur, has achieved a major breakthrough in exploration of rare earth elements and critical minerals after it found eight significant strategic minerals in its six mines in Maharashtra, an official said on Friday. Talking to PTI, a senior official said the WCL found these minerals in its six Open Cast (OC) mines -- Adasa UG (underground) to OC (open cast), Makardhokra-III, Durgapur OC, Gauri-Pauni, Mungoli-Nirguda, and Yekona I & II -- recently. The analysis found economically significant concentrations of rare earth elements (REEs) and critical minerals of Potash (K), Tellurium (Te), Titanium (Ti), Lanthanum (La) and Cerium (Ce), Rhenium (Re), Selenium (Se) and Zirconium (Zr), he said. Potash (K) has strong potential for fertiliser and agro-chemical applications and Tellurium is essential for solar photovoltaic cells, semiconductors, and thermoelectric devices. Titanium has huge potential for aerospace, defence, pigments, and ...