ISLAMABAD  -  The indigenous extraction of sodium bicar­bonate can help considerably decrease the production costs of a variety of industrial materials. “The excess quantity can also be exported to generate handsome revenues as well,” stresses Abdul Bashir, chief geologist with a Balochistan-based exploration firm, Koh-e-Daleel Minerals Private Limited.

Talking to a news website, he said: “Pak­istan possessed immense potential for so­dium bicarbonate, which must be tapped. Vast deposits of salt in the country are a great source to produce sodium bicarbon­ate and some other minerals, including trona and nahcolite. Sodium bicarbonate can also be extracted from the brines, geo­thermal waters, hot springs, and natural mineral water springs.” Discussing indus­trial and domestic uses of sodium bicar­bonate, Bashir said besides its use in the pharmaceutical industry, it was also used as a food additive in poultry feed, aque­ous blast cleaning media, bath additive, exhaust gas neutralising material, in the production of agro-chemicals, fire extin­guishing agents, chemical raw material, as water softening agent and as a baking agent. “The textile and food industries also heavily rely on this essential compound.”

He said: “More than 70,000 tonnes of sodium bicarbonate were annually im­ported at the cost of precious foreign exchange. Foreign investors should be offered lucrative incentives to build the infrastructure and introduce the latest technology to extract sodium bicarbon­ate.” Highlighting the need for extracting sodium bicarbonate from natural mineral sources, Imran Babar, a miner and geolo­gist, told WealthPK that a good number of miners were still unaware of the extrac­tion method or the value of sodium bicar­bonate in both national and international markets. He said that the government should offer incentives to investors in the form of subsidies and easy loans for the establishment of extraction/value-addi­tion units. The global market of sodium bicarbonate is expected to grow to $7.7 billion by the year 2033 at a compound annual growth rate of 5.2% from $4.6 billion in 2023. It is time for the policy­makers in Pakistan to evolve a proper framework for the extraction of sodium bicarbonate. It will open new windows of opportunity, and help reduce the reliance on foreign raw materials.