Activist warns Mangampeta barytes reserves in India have fallen below 23 million tonnes

Environmentalists warn that high-grade barytes reserves at Mangampeta in India’s Kadapa district have dropped from 49 million tonnes to less than 23 million tonnes, which they say would last only about eight more years at current extraction rates. Barytes is a key weighting material used in oil and gas drilling to help prevent blowouts, and tighter supply could raise costs for deep-well operations. The article calls for barytes to be designated a strategic mineral and for an immediate ban on exports of the high-grade variety, without citing any existing policy action or official response.