Exploration Potential and Economic Significance of Puga Valley Borax Deposit, Ladakh, India

Borates are compounds that contain boron, a chemical element. Borax is an important compound of borates. The uses of borates to mankind are known form very early times but common use came in the late 19th century when sizable deposits are discovered in USA, Turkey, and Russia. Borate minerals are now used extensively worldwide in chemical, glass, ceramics, LCD, high-yield crop fertilizers, wood preservatives and speciality products. Majority of the world production of borates is coming from USA and Turkey where thorough exploration has been done and significant deposits are discovered. Many regions especially in Asian and European countries like India, China are yet to be fully explored for commercial mining of borates. Puga valley of Ladakh in India is one of the examples. Preliminary exploration has been carried out in this region by Geological Survey of India (GSI) during 1970s but afterward no one has looked into the exploration and economic significance of this area. Ample scope exists for exploration in this region. Asian countries, in fact, are driving the consumption growth of borates swiftly. The demand and supply is completely met by USA and Turkish producers. India is totally dependent on import to meet domestic need and if Puga valley can be put on production scale, it can nourish India’s demand to some extent. In this paper, an attempt has been made to depict exploration potential and economic significance of the Puga borax deposit, Ladakh, India.