CHENNAI: The state’s natural resources department has sought permission from the Union government to mine two critical minerals - molybdenum and tungsten. A top government official said the department has identified sites with deposits of these two minerals, which have a variety of industrial uses.
“We are aware of local and socio-economic concerns of the people and sought permission from the Union government,” the official said.
The state is looking at joint ventures to develop the mines for the two minerals. Molybdenum can play a major role in the state becoming a hydrogen hub while tungsten can help in energy storage, official sources said. India’s molybdenum ore deposit is about 19.29 million tonnes. Out of these, Tamil Nadu has the biggest deposits of about 9.97 million tonnes of ore. It is identified as a mineral of high economic interest for the country and is also used in making missile and aircraft parts; and in the nuclear industry.
Tamil Nadu has three blocks where molybdenum occurs as molybdenite and has been planning to auction these mines earlier. However, it got stuck as the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) has not determined the royalty of the mineral and its average sale price. The molybdenum reserves were found for the first time in Harur taluk in Dharmapuri in 1995.
Molybdenum is a refractory metal used principally as an alloying agent in steel, cast iron, and superalloys to enhance strength and resistivity to wear and corrosion. It is used in high-strength steel for automobiles to reduce weight and improve fuel economy and safety. Molybdenum is being considered by the manufacturers of hydrogen electrolysers as a possible replacement raw material.
Similarly, Tungsten is available in Madurai district. It is a rare metal found naturally on earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements and identified by the union government as a mineral of high economic importance for the country. Tungsten can be used in the production of lithium-tungsten oxide batteries, all of which exhibit high energy storage capacity and improved stability.