‘Not economically viable’: Potash reserves in Punjab won’t be harnessed anytime soon

Huge reserves of potash discovered by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) in Fazilka and Muktsar districts are not likely to be harnessed, at least for the next few years.

Officials said the assessment made by the central agency so far says it may not be economically viable to mine potash as the mineral has a low concentration of 7-10%.

Potash refers to a group of minerals and chemicals that contain potassium, a vital nutrient for plants and a key component in fertilisers.

Saskatchewan province in Canada is the hub of potash mining in the world while India imports the mineral for use in agriculture and other sectors.

An official said that capacity building of potash mining will be a major achievement for India as it could save foreign exchange outflows.

“To date, mining of potash is not done in India and no agency has a robust technical expertise in it. GSI studies say the potash reserves in the twin Punjab districts are hidden 400-800 metres below the surface. Drilling so deep to extract minerals and separate potash, which has an estimated concentration of up to 10%, may not be an economical proposition,” said an official, who is not authorised for a media comment.

Potash reserves have been found in three blocks— Ramsara, Shergarh and Dalmir Khera in Fazilka and Kabarwala and Sherewala in Muktsar.

HT was the first to report the detection of potash mines in the state, in October 2021. At the time, GSI officials had pegged the discovery worth ₹1,000 crore.

These underground mines are spread over nearly 18 square kilometres in the southwest region of Punjab.

On February 6, state mining minister Barinder Kumar Goyal had said the Punjab government will explore potash mining in two districts.

Official sources said that work allotment to harness the mineral will be the domain of the central authorities while Punjab government will be looped in.

Secretary, mines and geology, Gurkirat Kirpam Singh was unavailable for comments.

Another official said that two Malwa districts and various districts of the adjoining Rajasthan are called ‘evaporating basins’ where potash is deposited as a result of evaporation from concentrated seawater.

“Various central agencies undertake exploration activities across the country to detect natural resources such as petrol, gas and other minerals. GSI discovery of potash reserves is significant but a scientific achievement cannot be an economical viability. The existing challenges state that potash harness may not be possible in the next 5-7 years,” he said.