Hyderabad: While rare earth minerals have drawn global attention, experts highlight that Telangana holds vast, untapped reserves of these critical resources. According to geological scientist PV Sunder Raju, the state’s diverse terrain—particularly its alkaline rock formations and diamond-bearing structures—offers significant opportunities for the exploration of critical and strategic minerals.
Raju identifies Telangana’s nepheline syenite plutons, located at the boundary of the Eastern Ghats mobile belt (EGMB) and the Dharwar craton, as a promising but underexplored source of light rare earth elements (REEs). These formations, he explains, form part of a larger geological setting that includes kimberlite and lamproite rocks, which are globally known to contain diamonds. The Deccan kimberlite province and the Nallamalai lamproite province are two such zones highlighted for future exploration.
“The state can broadly be divided into the Gondwana graben and the Deccan plateau,” said Raju. “Both regions hold potential for rare elements like barytes, corundum, dolomite, and others.” He further said that regions such as the Godavari graben, Nallamalai fold belt, and the northeastern area between the Cuddapah and Pakhal basins warrant focused exploration. Eastern Ghats zones near the Bastar craton are also marked as favourable.
Deeper exploration
Raju said that while companies such as De Beers and the Geological Survey of India (GSI) conducted research in the past, several promising sites remain underexplored. In particular, the Narayanpet kimberlite field in Mahbubnagar district and the adjoining Raichur kimberlite field show the presence of indicator minerals but need advanced methods to assess their full potential.
According to available data, GSI reported 32 kimberlite bodies, while De Beers identified 29 in the Narayanpet field. These formations span about 60 kilometres east-west and 25 km north-south, aligned with major fractures. Raju recommends re-evaluating this data with newer techniques like geophysical surveys, hyperspectral mapping, and AI-based analysis to attract international investment.
He also mentioned that areas with granite and pegmatite formations in Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda could be explored for lithium, given industry interest and ongoing investments in lithium battery manufacturing.
Coal deposits and waste dumps from Singareni Collieries, Raju added, could also be evaluated for their metallurgical value and strategic minerals, underlining a broader need for updated exploration across the state.
