New Delhi, Jun 3 : The ministry of mines is now looking at the north-eastern part of the country to tap the significant mineral resources in the region. According to sources in the ministry of mines, Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd (MECL) has done an exclusive mapping of the region and has found significant mineral deposits in the area. The states include Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Meghalaya among others.
The department of atomic energy (DAE) has already planned to tap uranium in Meghalaya, which has the third largest reserves of the mineral after Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh. The new survey done by MECL has found considerable deposits of limestone, glass sand and coal. The MECL is expected to make a presentation before the minister of mines Sis Ram Ola sometime next month. A decision on whether to allow private players to undertake mining will be decided after the meeting. This is part of the government’s strategy to explore mineral reserves in the country to ensure availability of key minerals.Limestone constitutes the largest bulk in terms of input to cement. For producing one ton of cement, approximately 1.6 tonne of limestone is required. The total limestone deposit in the country is estimated to be 90 billion tonne. Andhra Pradesh has the largest share at 34%. The new find by MECL can lead to cement industries shifting base to these states, as most cement producers prefer to have their plants near the limestone deposit to reduce transportation cost. “The survey has been very promising and mining activities can lead to significant production of these minerals,” said a source.
Mining in the form of using limestone in brick kilns already exist in the area, but the survey is expected to further boost commercialization in the region. The survey will also take succor from the new National Mineral Policy 2008. The source, however, pointed out that most of the minerals found are based in insurgency-hit areas like north Cachar and Karbi Anglong in Assam. “It will be difficult to tap the mining potential in these areas because of insurgency. I do not know if any one would like to go there,” the source added. Earlier this month, insurgents killed 10 railway employees working on broad gauge conversion and another 12 were killed at a cement factory.
UNI
The department of atomic energy (DAE) has already planned to tap uranium in Meghalaya, which has the third largest reserves of the mineral after Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh. The new survey done by MECL has found considerable deposits of limestone, glass sand and coal. The MECL is expected to make a presentation before the minister of mines Sis Ram Ola sometime next month. A decision on whether to allow private players to undertake mining will be decided after the meeting. This is part of the government’s strategy to explore mineral reserves in the country to ensure availability of key minerals.Limestone constitutes the largest bulk in terms of input to cement. For producing one ton of cement, approximately 1.6 tonne of limestone is required. The total limestone deposit in the country is estimated to be 90 billion tonne. Andhra Pradesh has the largest share at 34%. The new find by MECL can lead to cement industries shifting base to these states, as most cement producers prefer to have their plants near the limestone deposit to reduce transportation cost. “The survey has been very promising and mining activities can lead to significant production of these minerals,” said a source.
Mining in the form of using limestone in brick kilns already exist in the area, but the survey is expected to further boost commercialization in the region. The survey will also take succor from the new National Mineral Policy 2008. The source, however, pointed out that most of the minerals found are based in insurgency-hit areas like north Cachar and Karbi Anglong in Assam. “It will be difficult to tap the mining potential in these areas because of insurgency. I do not know if any one would like to go there,” the source added. Earlier this month, insurgents killed 10 railway employees working on broad gauge conversion and another 12 were killed at a cement factory.
UNI
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