Government reclassifies barytes, felspar, mica, quartz in major category to boost mining of critical minerals
The Ministry of Mines announced on Friday that it has shifted minerals barytes, felspar, mica, and quartz from the list of minor minerals to the category of major minerals to pave the way for extracting critical minerals from mines.
Quartz, felspar, and mica are found in pegmatite rocks, which are an important source of many critical minerals such as beryl, lithium, niobium, tantalum, molybdenum, tin, titanium, and tungsten. These minerals have a vital role in various new technologies for electronics, EVs, defence, renewable energy, and healthcare sectors.
When the leases of quartz, felspar, and mica are granted as minor mineral leases, the leaseholders do not declare the existence of critical minerals or extract the critical minerals associated with them such as lithium and beryl as their primary objective is to use these minerals as minor minerals for construction, and making glass and ceramic products. Consequently, the critical minerals associated with these minerals are neither getting extracted nor reported, according to a Mines Ministry statement.
Similarly, baryte has various industrial applications, being used for 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. It is found in association with ores of antimony, cobalt, copper, lead, manganese, and silver. Baryte, with iron ore, occurs in a pocket type of deposit which cannot be mined in isolation. While mining either of the minerals, the production of associated minerals is inevitable.
The move follows the recent approval of the National Critical Mineral Mission by the Union Cabinet on January 29. 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.
In view of the importance of these minerals, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Mines & Minerals Sector constituted under the chairmanship of NITI Aayog member V. K. Saraswat recommended that these minerals be shifted from the list of minor minerals to the category of major minerals. Once categorised as major minerals, there would be an increase in exploration and scientific mining of these minerals which are an important source of many critical minerals, the statement said.
Reclassification of these minerals will not adversely affect the lease period of the existing leases. As major minerals, the leases for these minerals will get extended to a period of 50 years from the date of grant or till the completion of the renewal period, if any, whichever is later as per section 8A of the MMDR Act, 1957.
These mines will gradually register with the Indian Bureau of Mines and will be regulated as major minerals. A transition time of four months, that is, up to 30th June, 2025 has been provided. The revenue from mines of these minerals will continue to accrue to the state governments as earlier, the statement added.
