Barytes, Felspar, Mica And Quartz Now Classified As 'Major Minerals' In India: What It Means

In a significant policy shift, the Ministry of Mines has classified four minerals—Barytes, Felspar, Mica, and Quartz—moving them from the minor minerals list to the major minerals category.

This change, formalised through a gazette notification issued on Thursday (20 February), aims to unlock the potential of critical minerals vital for cutting-edge technologies and industrial applications.

The decision comes on the heels of the Union Cabinet’s approval of the National Critical Mineral Mission on 29 January.

The mission envisages ramping up exploration and extraction of critical minerals within India, including recovery of these minerals from mines of other minerals, overburden and tailings.

Quartz, Felspar, and Mica, commonly found in pegmatite rocks, are an important source of many critical minerals like Lithium, Beryl, Niobium, Tantalum, Molybdenum, Tin, Titanium, and Tungsten, according to a Ministry of Mines release.

These minerals have vital role in various new technologies, in energy transition, spacecraft industries, healthcare sector, etc.

Under their previous minor mineral status, leaseholders primarily extracted these for construction, glass, and ceramic industries, often overlooking or failing to report the presence of associated critical minerals.

Consequently, the critical minerals associated with these minerals are neither getting extracted nor reported, the ministry said.

Barytes, another newly elevated mineral, plays a key role in diverse industries, from oil and gas drilling to electronics, radiation shielding, and medical applications.

Baryte with iron ore occurs in pocket type of deposit which cannot be mined in isolation. While mining either of the minerals, the production of associated mineral is inevitable.

The push to reclassify these minerals stemmed from recommendations by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Mines and Minerals, chaired by Dr V K Saraswat, a member of NITI Aayog.

The committee highlighted that shifting these to the major minerals category would encourage systematic exploration and scientific mining practices, ensuring critical minerals are neither wasted nor ignored.

For existing leaseholders, the transition promises continuity rather than disruption.

Leases for these minerals, now classified as major, will extend to 50 years from the date of grant—or until the renewal period ends, whichever is later—under Section 8A of the Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, 1957, the ministry said.

These mines will gradually register with the Indian Bureau of Mines and will be regulated as major minerals.

A four-month transition period, until 30 June 2025, has been granted to ease the shift.

The ministry further clarified that the revenue from mines of these minerals will continue to accrue to the state government as earlier.

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