India's Only Barite Reserve In Danger, Stock Left For Less Than 10 Years; What Is This And What Will Be The Impact On The Country?

India's only barite reserve in danger, stock left for less than 10 years; What is this and what will be the impact on the country?

India Barytes Reserves Depletion: India's only major baryte reserve is depleting rapidly and this may have a direct impact on the long-term energy security of the country. The report of the Center for Domestic Economy Policy Research (C-DEP.in) released on 17 December 2025 warns that if mining and exports continue at the current pace, India will have usable baryte reserves for less than 10 years.

What is barite and what is it used for?

Baryte is a very important mineral for oil and gas drilling (barytes critical mineral oil gas drilling). There is no practical alternative to it in keeping high-pressure wells safe and stable. According to the report, if domestic barite availability is affected, India's oil-gas exploration programs in strategic areas like Andaman Basin and Krishna-Godavari Basin will be immediately impacted.

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The only mine is in Mangampet, Andhra Pradesh.

The report states that about 95% of India's total barite resources are contained in Andhra Pradesh's Mangampeta mine (Andhra Pradesh Mangampeta deposit exhaustion), which is the only large and reliable barite reserve in the country. The proven reserves here were 49 million tonnes in 2015, which will decline to less than 23 million tonnes in 2024. That means 53% of the reserves have been exhausted in just one decade. The main reason for this has been said to be continuously increasing exports without any long-term strategy.

Depletion of barite is a question of national energy security.

This report titled 'Analysis of the Impact of Rapid Depletion of Baryte Reserves on Energy Security' was released at IIT Delhi (IIT Delhi barytes study 2025). It was released by Praveen Prakash, former managing director of Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) and retired IAS officer.

He said, "The depletion of barite is not just a mineral issue, it is a question of national energy security. India meets more than 90% of its crude oil needs through imports. In such a situation, future safe drilling depends on barite only."

India became the largest exporter to limit Chinese exports

According to the report, India became the world's largest barite exporter after China limited exports in 2016. Currently, India supplies about 44% of total barite imports to the US, while its own reserves are much less than countries like the US, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkey. C-DEP Chairman Dr. Jaijit Bhattacharya says that oil producing countries are saving barite for decades. India will also have to take similar prudent steps, otherwise strategic dependence will increase in future.

The report recommends the government to implement a balanced moratorium on barite exports, a financial transition plan for APMDC's bond obligations of about Rs 10,000 crore, changes in the export policy and inclusion of barite in the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM).

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