Categorise baryte as a critical mineral, demands policy thinktank

New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) A policy thinktank has urged the government to classify baryte as a critical mineral due to its wide usage in oil and gas exploration, defence applications and strategic industries.

The categorisation of baryte as a critical mineral under the National Critical Minerals Mission (NCMM) would pave the way for its inclusion in national stockpiling programmes, attract targeted R&D investments and empower the government to impose conservation and export-control measures, the Centre for Domestic Economy Policy Research said in a report.

Baryte has various industrial applications in oil and gas drilling, electronics, TV screens, rubber, glass, ceramics, paint, radiation shielding and medical applications. Baryte is used to make high-density concrete to block X-ray emissions in hospitals, power plants, and laboratories. Baryte often occurs as concretions and vein fillings in limestone and dolostone.

The report warned that India is on the verge of exhausting its only major baryte reserve, placing the country's long-term energy security at risk.

With domestic extraction continuing at high levels, India is now the only major economy in the world with less than 10 years of accessible baryte reserves left, the report, 'Analysis of the Impact of Rapid Depletion of Baryte Reserves on Energy Security, stated.

The report highlighted that 95 per cent of India's baryte wealth is concentrated in the Mangampet mine in Andhra Pradesh, where proven reserves have declined from 49 million tonnes in 2015 to under 23 million tonnes in 2024, a 53 per cent fall within a decade.

This decline has been driven by unsustainable exports without parallel efforts to build a strategic reserve for India's long-term energy and domestic requirements, it said.

The Ministry of Mines had earlier this year shifted minerals, including barytes, from the list of minor minerals to the category of major minerals. The move followed the approval of the National Critical Mineral Mission by the Union Cabinet in January.

The Mission envisages exploration and mining of critical minerals within the country, including recovery of these minerals from mines of other minerals, overburden and tailings. PTI SID MR