Faiza Tehseen

Trona, the principal mineral ore to extract soda ash and other important industrial compounds, has its deposits in different parts of Pakistan, particularly in Sindh, but a serious effort is yet to be undertaken for its systematic exploration and extraction. Abdul Bashir, chief geologist with a Balochistan-based exploration firm, Koh-e-Daleel Minerals Private Limited, highlighted this while talking to WealthPK.

“The indigenous extraction of trona will help provide a variety of raw materials to produce different industrial products, and cut the import cost incurred on a lot of materials sourced from trona like sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), sodium phosphate (detergents) and sodium carbonate,” he underscored. He said soda ash (sodium carbonate) compound, which was extracted from trona, was a significant commodity further used in producing different industrial materials – salt cakes, paper, glass (for automotive and construction industries), chemicals, textiles, detergents, borax, boric acid and to condition water. Bashir said trona, a non-marine evaporative monoclinic mineral occurring from yellowish to grey-white in colour, was a hydrous acid sodium carbonate. “Infrequently, it can be seen as an evaporation product or the saline lake deposit. On the parched soil, it is an efflorescence.”

He said Khairpur district of Sindh province was the main producer of trona. “Around 300 to 400 metric tonnes of trona are mined annually from there. It also occurs in other provinces, including Balochistan, in some areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.” The geologist said despite having different sizeable sources of trona, it was never focused on being extracted in the country. “Although the compounds extracted from it are not very expensive, they are valuable and are used extensively for different commercial and domestic purposes.” Bashir said the local extraction of trona would open a new avenue of opportunity in Pakistan. “The establishment of trona value addition plants will also add new sources of sustainable income generation.”

Emphasising the importance of trona extraction in Pakistan, Imran Babar, a geologist and miner in Balochistan, said no serious efforts had been made to tap its potential. He said the production of soda ash from trona was also environment-friendly as the process contributed much less to greenhouse gas emissions. The global trona market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.5% by 2030 from $1.21 billion in 2019. The international soda ash (sodium carbonate) market is projected to reach $27 billion at a CAGR of 4.2% by 2031 from a CAGR of 3.9% in 2019. The market value of baking soda was valued at $4.7 billion in 2024, which is expected to grow to $7.44 billion by 2032 at a CAGR of 6.50%. 

Credit: INP-WealthPk