IIT-Ropar researchers discover rare metal in Sutlej

chandigarh, Nov 21
A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar has detected the presence of tantalum, a rare metal used in manufacturing of electronic components, in the Sutlej river sand in Punjab. The discovery was made by a team headed by Dr Resmi Sebastian, assistant professor at the institute’s Civil Engineering Department. The researchers were working on an unrelated project when they stumbled upon the metal in samples collected from the Sutlej basin, Dr Sebastian told The Indian Express.
“One of my research students found the presence of tantalum while conducting experiments on the characterization of the Sutlej river sand,” she said. Dr Sebastian said the experiments were basically aimed at studying dynamic properties of soil and rocks and how these would have a bearing in case of an earthquake. “Mineral analysis was otherwise never a goal in the experimentation we were doing,” she said. She said since traces of tantalum have been found, it could be in the interest of the state for economic viability to mine such rare metals. Punjab Mining and Geology Department Director Abhijeet Kaplish said, “The discovery of tantalum in Sutlej is not only significant for Punjab but for India, given its value in terms of its use in electronics and semi-conductors. We are curious to know the quantum of the metal in the river. Detailed studies are likely to shed more light on that.”
After the experiments by Dr Sebastian’s team were conducted in July 2021, a research paper was published in January this year. The findings, confirming the presence of tantalum, figure in a proposal prepared by IIT-Ropar for the Punjab government on socio-environmental sustainability for river sand mining.
The proposal highlights the presence of tantalum while referring to identification of rare metals and other elements present in Sutlej at various locations in Punjab, “which is of interest to government and associated industries”.
The proposal has been prepared by a team led by Dr Reet Kamal Tiwari, also an assistant professor at the institute’s Civil Engineering Department. The team, which includes Dr Sebastian, has proposed collection of Sutlej river samples from at least 125 locations to identify rare components. “Collecting samples from 125 sites is a tentative number. More than 300 sites which have been mapped by the Punjab government can be explored,” said Dr Tiwari.
Tantalum is a hard, lustrous transition metal that is highly corrosion resistant. The annual report of the Union Ministry of Mines for 2020-21 identified it as “one of the 12 critical and strategic minerals”.
Although the source of tantalum in Sutlej is not clear yet, Dr Sebastian said it could be due to movement of tectonic plates in the Himalayan region that is likely to contain the rare metal.
“Tantalum may be making to the rivers due to the movement of Indian plate towards the Eurasian plate.
This movement causes seismic activity in the Himalayan region,” she said.
Dr Tiwari said, “Without investigations we cannot comment on that [the source]. It cannot come from industry, because we found that there is no such industry upstream Ropar. It may be coming from China, who knows, because 80 per cent of the catchment area of Sutlej is in China, in Tibet. Without investigation we cannot comment on its source.”