The mineral monazite is a reddish-brown phosphate containing rare earth metals and an important source of thorium, lanthanum, and cerium. Because of the presence of thorium within monazite, it can be radioactive. Due to the alpha decay of thorium and uranium, monazite contains significant amount of helium, which can be extracted by heating.
The sands of Sankaramangalam in Kerala were found to contain several rare earths like Ilmenite, Zircon and Rutile. KMML is involved in the harvesting of these minerals from the seas, which are used as basic raw materials for a variety of industries. The Mineral Separation Unit (MS Unit) is engaged in the separation of Ilmenite, Rutile, Leucoxene, Monazite, Silliminite etc from the beach sand. The MS Unit employs Gravitational, Magnetic and High Tension Electrostatic Techniques for separation of minerals from the sand.
