Faiza Tehseen

Despite being rich in a multitude of precious and semi-precious minerals, and rare earth elements (REEs), the placers of River Indus are still waiting to be exploited. “Proper mining of this natural source can fetch great socioeconomic benefits for Pakistan,” said Abdul Bashir, chief geologist at a Balochistan-based mining firm ­‑ Koh-e-Daleel Minerals Private Limited. Talking to WealthPK, he said, “Monazite-bearing sands are often rich in some other rare elements and heavy mineral concentrates, including thorium, uranium, sillimanite, ilmenite, rutile, zircon, and garnet. The sand of the Indus River is made up of fine mineral particles, eroded and moved downstream from the mineral source. After water panning, they can be recovered. Placer and beach sands are usually rich in them and monazite”. Bashir said that the recovery of all these minerals and REEs can be done manually and by sophisticated mechanisms as well. “No proper mining has ever been done in Pakistan to recover the minerals/metals from placer deposits. It is also necessary that like other mineral deposits, a high-tech laboratory analysis should be performed, so that the presence of all metals/minerals and even their trace elements could be officially recorded.

The government should get this analysis done from the globally reputed laboratories.” The mining expert said the government should establish a sophisticated system to recover precious minerals/metals/REEs, including monazite, from placers to generate revenues through their trade. He said monazite sand was used in construction and casting as a principal ore of thorium, and it can replace uranium as it is highly radioactive. “Monazite is a critical source of renewable energy. Other than uranium, thorium occurs three to four times more than uranium. Thorium is mostly refined from monazite sands because they contain at least 2.5% thorium.” Bashir said the refinement and extraction of REEs from the monazite sands presented an opportunity for the country to step into the strategically important market to produce batteries, high-performance magnets, and other in-kind smart materials/equipment. “This is the main reason that the prices of REEs are skyrocketing. By developing the monazite sands, Pakistan can play a key role in the global REE market.”

Highlighting the importance of REEs found in placers, miner and geologist Imran Babar told WealthPK, “Monazite or other REEs are strategically precious minerals/metals. A good number of people in Pakistan are attached to the business of gold recovery from placers, but they are unaware of other elements. It is necessary to make them aware and then they must be trained to recover the other precious/rare particles from it in an easy way.” Imran said that the government should offer such people lucrative incentives to buy the recovered REEs. “The government can also establish washing units near placers. Other than mining, placers are also a great source to recover both rare and precious particles from. So, this aspect should not be neglected. It is the need of the hour that the policymakers focus on this aspect of mining for the socioeconomic uplift of Pakistan.”

Credit: INP-WealthPk