Faiza Tehseen

Pakistan can produce value-added products from abundant bentonite (clay) deposits by establishing processing units to boost exports and cut imports. Pakistan has to import bentonite to meet its industrial needs. Import costs make the production of local products costly, forcing the clients to buy cheap foreign products. This trend is damaging the home industry and revenue generation. So, local production of the clay and its value-addition is important to cut the import bill, meet home industry needs, and create a vast job market and value chain across the country and globally. Discussing the matter with WealthPK, Muhammad Yaqub Shah, the principal geologist at Global Mining Company Limited, Islamabad, said that soft porous and greasy bentonite was a clay rock or claystone, which formed as a result of volcanic ash weathering.

“It is mainly composed of montmorillonite belonging to smectite group having two primary types, ­­sodium bentonite and calcium bentonite. It is a non-consolidated sedimentary rock and can be classified in the group of silica clay minerals as well.” He said the clay swelled when mixed with water, absorbed and retained water for a long time. “In Pakistan, the bentonite is also known as ‘Multani Mitti’ in the local language. It is also the principal source of dolomite, iron, calcite, silica, iron, calcium, magnesium, quartz, etc.” Yaqub stated that bentonite was an important industrial mineral, and was mostly found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Punjab provinces. “An extensive deposit of bentonite is located in the Eocene sequence of the Suleman Range located in Dera Ghazi Khan district of Punjab.” The geologist said that the robust bentonite industry could also attract both local and foreign investors.

“Its mining, dispensation and value addition must be focused in a systematic way. It is also important that local communities benefit from its exploitation,” he said. Bentonite is commonly used in a multitude of industries, including agriculture, construction, drilling mud, foundry sands, iron ore pelletizing, etc. The swelling property of this clay gives it a cohesiveness to make it a good binder. It is also used to enhance the plasticity of kaolin used to make pottery. By establishing the local processing units, Pakistan can be one of its exporters like China as it produces both calcium and sodium bentonite. It will help increase work opportunities, especially for the people living around the deposits. The establishment of its processing units will create a supply chain and a new employment market. This will help Pakistan open the doors to bilateral/multilateral trade agreements.

Credit: INP-WealthPk