India's Mines and Minerals Regulatory Authority for strategic minerals

Mines and minerals regulatory authority of India
With the privatisation of mines in 2002, there is an urgency to create a Mines and
Minerals Regulatory Authority of India, particularly for strategic minerals.

Strategic minerals are monazite, ilmenite and rutile sands which contain thorium and
titanium. Titanium is a space age mineral; thorium is the mainstay of the nation’s nuclear
program with the potential to make the nation energy independent.

Minerals policy is coming up for discussion in the Parliament in the current session (from
August 2007). This issue of national security and sovereignty and the imperative of
attaining a developed nation status will necessitate the conservation of the mineral wealth
of the nation and NOT allow it to be looted for temporary gains. For example, instead of
merely producing titanium oxide in the Tata plants at Sattankulam (Tamilnadu) or
Chattarpur (Orissa) using the mineral placer deposit sands, there should be plants to
produce thorium and titanium metals and reserve them for the nation’s strategic
development imperatives.

Some notes follow which will have an impact on development of SEZs ensuring
sustainable development for an essentially agrarian nation living in over 6 lakh villages.

Kalyanaraman
14 August 2007

Thorium has been extracted chiefly from monazite through a multi-stage process. In the
first stage, the monazite sand is dissolved in an inorganic acid such as sulfuric acid
(H2SO4). In the second, the Thorium is extracted into an organic phase containing an
amine. Next it is separated or quot;strippedquot; using an anion such as nitrate, chloride,
hydroxide, or carbonate, returning the thorium to an aqueous phase. Finally, the thorium
is precipitated and collected. Source: Crouse, David; Brown, Keith (December 1959).
quot;The Amex Process for Extracting Thorium Ores with Alkyl Aminesquot;.Industrial &
Engineering Chemistry 51 (12): 1461. Retrieved on 2007-03-09

K.M.V. Jayaram. An Overview of World Thorium Resources, Incentives for Further
Exploration and Forecast for Thorium Requirements in the Near Future
Mirror: http://www.slideshare.net/kalyan97/thoriumdeposits/

Under the prevailing estimate, Australia and India have particularly large reserves of
thorium. Thorium reserves:

Australia 300,000
India 290,000
Norway 170,000
United States 160,000
Canada 100,000

1
PDF Created with deskPDF PDF Writer - Trial :: http://www.docudesk.com

South Africa 35,000
Brazil 16,000
Malaysia 4,500
Other Countries 95,000
World Total 1,200,000

Source: US Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries (1997-2006); ^ U.S.
Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries - Thorium. Information and
Issue Briefs - Thorium. World Nuclear Association. Retrieved on 2006-11-01.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorium

Vanishing thorium and nuke deal; are they interlinked?

Of course, according to scientists, the accumulation of placer deposits is substantially
contributed by Rama Setu acting as a sieve and the unique pattern of ocean currents
in Hindumahaasaagar. Who will take care of the nation's wealth so essential to the
nation's nuke programme?

k

Vaikundarajan directed to surrender in court
Friday August 10 2007 09:18 IST

MADURAI: Vaikundarajan, owner of V V Minerals and a shareholder of Jaya TV, was
on Thursday, directed by the Madurai Bench of the High Court to surrender at Eraniel
court. The bench also allowed the police to question him for two days.

Vaikundarajan had filed 20 petitions seeking anticipatory bail. The petitions came up
for hearing before Justice G Rajasuria.

The judge observed that the police had doubts as to where the sand was sent as it
contained nuclear deposits.

Vaikundarajan has claimed that he was not aware of the fact that the sand he mined
contained nuclear particles. The judge said that the case was significant because of
the nuclear content in the sand.

http://tinyurl.com/2unsh2

Thorium and Rama Setu: both must be protected as nation’s treasure

Needed:

An immediate notification banning the private leases of monazite and ilmenite coastal
sands and declaring these as national treasure to be protected and used only indigenously
to support the nation’s nuclear program.

2

In his speech to the Parliament in March 2007, the President of India said that the current
electricity generation capacity in India is 120000 MW and is expected to increase to
400000 MW by the year 2030. Baba Atomic Research Center (BARC) estimates that
about 30 % of world's thorium deposits, or about 225000 tons of thorium, are found on
the beaches of Kerala. This will support about 387 years of electricity generation at 2030
capacity levels! http://www.ivarta.com/columns/OL_070508.htm

Importance of thorium for Bharatam

From BARC website: Thorium deposits - ~ 3,60,000 tonnes

The currently known Indian thorium reserves amount to 358,000 GWe-yr of electrical
energy and can easily meet the energy requirements during the next century and beyond.

India’s vast thorium deposits permit design and operation of U-233 fuelled breeder
reactors.

These U-233/Th-232 based breeder reactors are under development and would serve as
the mainstay of the final thorium utilization stage of the Indian nuclear programme.
http://www.barc.ernet.in/webpages/about/anu1.htm

This is underscored in a US report: www.carnegieendowment.org/publications where,
Tellis, the point-man for Indo-US nuke deal notes that India reserves of 78,000 metric
tons of uranium. The interests of US are best served by selling uranium and nuke reactors
instead of allowing India to gain self-sufficiency using indigenous thorium reserves.

The extraordinary monograph by Prof. Monu Nalapat, Prof. of Geopolitics in Manipal
University, notes with forthrightness and clarity and unravels the shocking sell-out of the
national interests, national integrity and national security of Bharatam, ignoring the sage
advise of the nation's foremost nuclear scientists. [quote] The Indian position has been
deliberately made murky, given the lack of an adequate official response to recent
statements made by the US that have described the proposed quot;strategicquot; partnership for
what it is—a non-proliferation mechanism intended to bring India into the now tattered
NPT fold as a non-nuclear weapons state. Should Congress finally get their way and
force this agreement on the nation, not only should the pact be torn up by the successor
government, but both should be prosecuted for high treason. [unquote]
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Contentpa=showpagepid=1
77page=2

Thorium blanket as fuel will be the nuclear fuel of the future for Bharatam, which has the
largest reserves of thorium in the world. A team of scientists led by Dr. VJ Loveson of
the CISR New Delhi, studying placer deposits in the area, says an estimated 40 million
tonnes of Titanium alone has been deposited in the entire stretch of 500 km. coastline.

There are four places on earth which are the target for exploitation of the richest mineral
resources on earth:

3

Manavalakurichi, Tamil Nadu
Chavara, Kerala
Chatrapur, Orissa
Pulmoddai, Sri Lanka

These four locations have coastal sands containing ilmenite and monazite among other
minerals. Ilmenite and Monazite sands yield Titanium and Thorium.

Thorium is vital for Bharatam’s Atomic Energy Program according to the BARC
website. The estimated reserves of 3,60,000 tonnes in Bharatam (being exploited by India
Rare Earths Limited) will meet the needs of electricity generation for over 350 years even
assuming an annual rate of generation of 400,000 MW (that is, four times the present
annual level of generation of electricity).

The intents of those who do not want Bharatam to progress with the indigenous
technological competence to create a nuclear reactor out of a thorium blanket (Kamini
reactor operating for 10 years now and another reactor coming up in the next 3 years to
produce 500 MW of electricity at Kalpakkam) make even developed nuclear powers
jealous of the reserves the nation possesses.

Shockingly, in 2002, the Mines Act was amended and exploitation of mines was
privatized. Private operators have now set up coastal sand godowns and looting the
nation’s richest mineral treasure. From Sri Lanka, Pulmoddai location, the entire
production is meant for export to Japan, Australia, Germany etc.

Now, the need for a 10 m. deep channel which will allow ships with less than 30,000
Dead Weight Tonnes can be used to transport these mineral sands both ways, one way to
Germany and the other way to Japan and USA.

Bharatam is the only country which has proved the use of thorium as a nuclear fuel.
Naturally, the jealousy leads some hostile nations to ensure that the thorium reserves are
knocked out and the nation made to buy uranium from the nuclear fueldsuppliers cartel.
Now, the Indo-US nuclear deal may indeed be premised on the destruction of the thorium
reserves of the nation by three means: 1) export of sands containing the nuclear fuel; 2)
preventing accumulation of placer deposits as monazite sands by interfering with Rama
Setu which acts as a sieve resulting in these placer accumulations; 3) expose the beach
sands to be submerged in the deep waters of the Indian ocean in case the next tsunami
devastates this mineral coastline through the proposed mid-ocean channel (as surmised
by Tsunami experts that the next tsunami energy will be funneled through the channel as
it happended in 1964 in Alberni canal and devastate the coastline of Tamil Nadu and
Kerala in Bharatam and of northern and northeastern Sri Lanka.

Now some evidences will be presented on the source of the rare earths found on these
four locations in such large quantities making Bharatam’s possession the richest reserve
of thorium in the world.

4

Kalyanaraman, 21 June 2007

SLN ship under siege off Pulmoddai coast

[TamilNet, August 01, 2006 15:13 GMT]

The Jetliner ship, which escaped Trincomalee attack Tuesday afternoon with 854 Sri
Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers on board, bound for north, has come under attack again in
the Pulmoddai sea from 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, military sources in Colombo said. Pulmoddai
is located 49 km northwest of Trincomalee and 41 km southwest of Mullaithivu.
Kfir jets took off from Colombo towards Pulmoddai in support of the ship under siege.
Villagers of Kokilai, Pulmoddai and other areas close to the Pulmoddai Sea are fleeing
from their houses.
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13artid=19014
Pulmoddai battle on but Sri Lankan ship `safe'
B. Muralidhar Reddy
COLOMBO: The Sri Lanka Navy has denied reports that the Jetliner ship, which escaped
a Tiger attack in Trincomalee on Tuesday afternoon, came under attack again in the
Pulmoddai sea.
The ship had 854 Sri Lanka Army soldiers on board. However, a spokesperson of the
SLA told The Hindu that a confrontation was on between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) and the Navy in the Pulmoddai sea.
quot;[The] Jetliner is safe and the passengers on board disembarked in the afternoon. The
claim by the LTTE about a second attack on the Jetliner is false and is a sign of
desperation after its cadres suffered heavily in the Trincomalee as well as Pulmoddai
confrontation,quot; the spokesperson said.
Earlier, TamilNet claimed that the Jetliner, bound for the north, came under a second
attack from the Tigers at 6 p.m. Pulmoddai is located 49 km northwest of Trincomalee
and 41 km southwest of Mullaithivu. quot;Villagers of Kokilai, Pulmoddai and other areas
close to the Pulmoddai sea are fleeing their houses,quot; it said.
Rajapakse calls up Manmohan
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse telephoned Prime Minist er Manmohan Singh
on Tuesday and exchanged views on the latest developments.
He also thanked Dr. Singh for help in the evacuation of stranded Sri Lankans from
Lebanon.
http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/02/stories/2006080220261400.htm

Pulmoddai mineral shipments to resume
Shipments of mineral sands from the Pulmoddai beach deposit on the northeast coast,
disrupted after Tamil Tiger rebels sank a bulk carrier, look set to resume now that the
guerrillas and government forces are observing a truce and preparing for peace talks.
Mineral sands at the Pulmoddai mine run by the Lanka Mineral Sands Ltd are known to
be rich in ilmenite, monazite, rutile and zircon.
Bulk shipments from Pulmoddai were suspended in September 1997 after Sea Tiger
rebels blew up and sank a bulk carrier. Since then, small quantities of rutile and crude

5

zircon brought by road have been exported in 40-kg bags through Colombo port mostly
to China, India and the United Kingdom.
quot;Now, there is a lot of demand for our mineral sands,quot; said Muhammad Nassar, chairman
of Lanka Mineral Sands. quot;We hope to resume production shortly. The factory has been
out of production for five years so a fair amount of maintenance is needed.quot; For bulk
shipments to resume, the wreck of the bulk carrier lying in 75 feet of water needs to be
removed, the pier repaired and a conveyor installed.
The Tigers had taken care not to damage the plant, which is in the region they claim as
their homeland, but cut off the water supply required to process the mineral sands and
disrupted bulk shipments.
Big stocks of minerals have accumulated over the years, including 180,000 tonnes of
ilmenite and 200,000 tonnes of crude zircon. The company processed about 300,000
tonnes of mineral sands a year.
The Pulmoddai beach mine is known to have high concentrations of minerals and is a
renewable deposit with sand being washed up by the sea. Shipments are not possible
during the northeast monsoon from October to February because there is no sheltered
anchorage at the site.
http://lakdiva.org/suntimes/020519/bus.html#3 (Sunday Times, Colombo,19 May, 2002)

Mineral processing was set to resume at Lanka Mineral Sands Ltd.’s Pulmoddai Beach
Mine in northern Sri Lanka. The company planned to restart large-scale processing of
200,000 metric tons (t) of crude zircon, 180,000 t of ilmenite, and deposits of rutile and
monazite that are present in the sand. Small-scale operations continued, with small
quantities of crude zircon and rutile being exported through the port of Colombo to
China, India, and the United Kingdom. The company processed 300,000 metric tons per
year of mined sands (Industrial Minerals, 2002). The Mineral Industry of Sri Lanka in
2002
Historically, the Ceylon Mineral Sands Corporation was established in 1957 under the
State Industrial Corporations Act of 1957. The Corporation located its plant for
processing Ilmenite at Pulmoddai and the first export of Ilmenite to Japan took place in
1962.
A new plant was commissioned in 1967 at China Bay, to process the more valuable
minerals – Rutile, Zircon and monazite using the tailings of the Pulmoddai Ilmenite plant.
In 1976, the Corporation established an integrated Ilmenite, Zircon and Rutile processing
plant at Pulmoddai.
In 1992, the Corporation was converted into a Government Owned Company under Act
No. 23 of 1987 and re-named Lanka Mineral Sands Ltd., the company also established a
facility for bulk loading into ships Pulmoddai. Cod Bay, in the Trincomalee Harbour is
the station for its floating craft of tugs and barges. The sales and marketing office is in
Colombo…
Reserves
In 1971 the company with the assistance of the Geological Survey Department carried
out a survey of the present beach which revealed a heavy mineral content of 3.7 million
tons with a cut off grade of 30%.
Preussag AG of West Germany carried out a vibro coring programme in 1979 in the near
shore area off Pulmoddai directly adjacent to the actual beach deposit covering an area of

6

12 km x 1.7 km. the data collected revealed the deposit extends for a distance of
approximately 0.8km parallel to the beach line; in thickness varying from several
centimeters to 100 cm in certain places.
In 1987 Simec Ltd. a joint venture company of State Mining Mineral Development
Company of Sri Lanka and Intersit BV of Netherland surveyed an area of 45 miles
between Mullativu and Nilaveli including the Pulmoddai beach.
Table 4 – Mineral Sands Deposits in Pulmoddai
Name of Deposit
Surface Area
Volume of Raw Sand
Value

Pudaviakaddu
South of Pulmoddai
1500 acres
30.9 million cubic meters
US $ 5.65 – 7.55
Per cub meter

Thavikallu
South of Pulmoddai
1500 acres
US $ 3.6 – 5.20
Per cub meter

Kokilai
North of Pulmoddai
1500 acres
US $ 4.33 – 5.49
Per cub. meter

Nayaru
North of Pulmoddai
900 acres
US $ 8.65 – 10.54
Per cub. meter

LMSL is 100% export-oriented with its products reaching counties such as Japan, China,
Australia etc. (Page 38)
The company has to-date only mined the Pulmoddai area and other untouched deposits in
Kokilai, Nayaru etc., are in excess of 400% of the Pulmoddai deposit, ensuring a supply
of raw material for several decades to come.
Prior to the stoppage of production in 2004, the production figures of LMSL are in

7

Annexure 6. (Page 40)
Fuel can be supplied by road or transport via Trincomalee by sea. (Page 41).

• Market Access
LMSL is a 100% export oriented venture. Market access is therefore a prime
consideration and any scheme of divestiture has to recognize this fact. Such a scheme
would therefore have to ensure that marketability of mineral products is assured.

• Security

Since this enterprise is located close to the conflict zone and attempts have been made to
disrupt production e.g., by damaging the water supply installation, the strategy should
ensure attempts to disrupt production for political reasons is prevented. (Page 42).

ANNEXURE - 3
UTILIZING THE FOUR MAIN MINERALS

Ilmenite
It is used to manufacture Titanium Dixoide white Pigment which has its own peculiar
characteristics such as pure whiteness and brightness than any other pigments can
achieve, non-toxic in contrast to lead pigments, non corrosive, stand high temperature,
does not change its colour when continuously exposed to sunlight and high hiding power.
Therefore the ultimate use of this mineral is in paper, paint, plastic, rubber, textile
industries and to make printing ink.
Zircon
Main properties of Zircon sand are resistant to corrosion and withstand high
temperatures. Therefore, it is extensively used in furnaces as retractive liners and in
foundry casings. Another major use is as an opacifier in glazing material in ceramic
industry which is widely expanding today. Zirconium compounds extracted from Zircon
are commonly used in television sets, leather, water proofing of fabrics, lacquers, drugs
as catalysts in chemical processes and also in high temperature work.

Monazite
Monazite even though is a radio-active mineral due to the presence of thorium its main
use is as a good source of rare-earth compounds. Monazite is therefore important for the
electronic and computer industry. It is also used in glass manufacture and polishing
lighter flints, high strength permanent magnets and in television sets as red phosphors.
Rutile
This mineral is the raw material for the manufacture of world’s “present and future”
metal Titanium. Titanium metal is very light (as light as aluminum) very strong (as strong
as steel), highly resistant to corrosion, withstand very high temperatures. Rutile is
exclusively used in the mineral sand form itself as a flux in welding rod industry.

(Page 48)
Annex 6 :

8

Year 1986 Production in Mt
Ilmenite 129907
Rutile 8443
Zircon 910
Hi.Ti.Ilmenite 3996
Monazite 17
Crude Zircon –
Total 143273 (1986) 47892 (1998)
Monazite in 2004: 29 Mt
(page 51)

http://books.smenet.org/Surf_Min_2ndEd/sm-ch02-sc10-ss25-bod.cfm

Industrial Minerals
Richard H. Olson, Edwin H. Bentzen, III, and Gordon C. Presley, Editors
2.10.25. TitaniumFootnote 01
Elemental titanium has become famous as a space age metal, because of its high
strength/weight ratio and resistance to corrosion. However, the major use is in the form of
titanium dioxide pigment, which because of its whiteness, high refractive index, and
resulting light-scattering ability, is unequaled for whitening paints, paper, rubber,
plastics, and other materials. A relatively minor use is in welding rod coatings, in the
form of the mineral rutile. The only commercially important titanium ore minerals at the
present time are ilmenite and its alteration products, and rutile.
Titanium was discovered by Gregor in 1790, as a white oxide which he discovered from
menaccanite, a variety of ilmenite occurring as a black sand near Falmouth, Cornwall.
Barksdale (1966) stated that the fundamental chemical reactions on which the present-
day titanium industry is based were known before 1800, although it was not until 1918
that these pigments were available commercially on the American market. ..
The beginning of the modern titanium metal industry was in 1948, when Du Pont
produced the first metal. U.S. Bureau of Mines reports, which gave details of the Kroll
process, together with the attractive properties of the metal for military aircraft, led to a
concerted effort by industry and government to develop a large-scale titanium metal
industry, which reached a peak capacity of over 36,000 stpy from six producers by 1958
(Pings, 1972a)…
Although titanium is the ninth most abundant element of the lithosphere, comprising an
estimated 0.62% of the earth’s crust, there are only a few minerals in which it occurs in
major amounts: rutile, anatase, and brookite (which are polymorphs of TiO2), ilmenite
and its alteration products, including leucoxene, perovskite (CaTiO3), and sphene
(CaTiSiO5). Anatase may be emerging as a significant ore mineral of the future, but
ilmenite, altered ilmenite, leucoxene, and rutile have been the only large volume ore
minerals through 1980.
Sand deposits in which rutile is the only economically important titanium mineral occur
along the eastern shore of Australia. Ilmenite, altered ilmenite, and rutile form inland
elevated strand-line deposits in Western Australia and in older sands of the Atlantic
Coastal Plain of the United States. Ilmenite and altered ilmenite are the principal titanium
ore minerals in other Western Australian districts; in Kerala, India; in deposits north of

9

the Black Sea in the USSR; and in Florida and Georgia. Relatively unaltered ilmenite is
found in large beach and dune occurrences along the northeastern coast of South Africa,
in the Nile Delta of Egypt, and in still other Western Australian deposits, those closest to
the present coast. Sand deposits of titaniferous iron ores occur as dune and beach deposits
in many volcanic areas, of which those in New Zealand are the outstanding examples…
Sand Deposits: Titanium-bearing black sands are found mainly in ancient or modern
ocean and sea beaches around and occasionally within continental land masses. They
frequently form highly visible surficial layers between the high and low water marks
which may extend intermittently along coasts for miles, but such concentrations,
containing perhaps 80% heavy minerals, are not mined on a large scale because they are
usually too shallow and narrow to represent major reserves. Minable bodies are
multilayered occurrences of a similar nature left behind by retreating seas, or coastal
dunes formed when heavy minerals from black sand beaches were being transported
inland by wind action. Heavy minerals tend to be disseminated within such dunes rather
than layered as in beach-type deposits.
The history of a black sand ore body may be simple or complex. The essential elements
are: (1) a “hinterland” of crystalline rocks in which the heavy minerals were accessory
constituents, (2) a period of deep weathering, (3) uplift with rapid erosion and quick
dumping into the sea of the products of stream erosion, and (4) emergence of the
coastline with longshore drift and high-energy waves acting during the process of
shoreline straightening. There may be intermediate stages such as partial concentration of
the heavy minerals in a coastal plain sediment and subsequent elevation, erosion, and
reconcentration. The sand brought to the sea by rivers is picked up and carried away from
their mouths by longshore currents, forming offshore bars and filling in bays between
headlands, particularly during storms. Where bars are formed, the sand-carrying waves
drag bottom and lose their energy so that the heavy minerals fall on the seaward side
while the light minerals are cast over the bar and into the quieter water beyond. Layer
upon layer of varying concentrations of heavy minerals accumulates on the growing bar
in this way. Where bays are being filled with sand, both heavy and light minerals are
churned from the bottom by landward-rushing waves and are hurled up the beach slope.
The smoother, slower retreat of each wave mobilizes the uppermost layer of sand
deposited there, and draws away the light minerals, to be picked up again and again by
waves as currents move them along the coast, while leaving the heavy minerals behind.
Alternating periods of stormy and calm weather leave alternating layers of high and low
concentrations of heavy minerals in the beach sand as it advances toward the sea..…
India: At one time India was a leading producer of ilmenite from the state of Kerala
(formerly Travancore-Cochin). The beach sands were mined in the Manavalakurichi
(M.K.) area and later the Quilon deposit of ilmenite near Chavra was put into production.
These deposits supplied the bulk of the titanium ore used by the U.S. prior to World War
II.
The two deposits have more differences than similarities. The ilmenite in the M.K.
deposit analyzed only 54% TiO2 and the sand was rich in garnet and monazite. The
ilmenite in the Quilon deposit analyzes about 60% TiO2. The sand carried almost no
garnet and is high in monazite in only two places. ..
Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka contains extensive beach deposits of titanium-bearing sands at
Pulmoddai, Tirukkovil, Kelani River, Kalu River, Modoragam River, Kudremalai Point,

10

Negombo, and Induruwa.
The Pulmoddai area contains 5.6 million st of titaniferous material with 2.451 million st
of contained TiO2. The deposit extends for a distance of 7 km (42 miles), has a maximum
width of about 91 m (300 ft), and a thickness of about 2.4 m (8 ft) There is no
overburden. The deposit contains about 80% ilmenite and rutile
The separation of rutile has been adversely affected by the presence of excessive amounts
of residual ilmenite and quartz in the tailings. The separation of zircon has been
hampered by inadequate water and insufficient wet tabling equipment to handle the
extremely fine-grained Pulmoddai ore…
Sand Deposits
Exploration: There are only a few large areas of the world where the granite-clan rocks
and high-grade metamorphic gneisses which are likely to contain ilmenite (not
titaniferous-magnetite) and rutile are close enough to continental margins to have
contributed their erosion products to the sediments of coastal plains. Well-sorted sands
are much more likely hosts than unsorted sands. These are the areas on which exploration
efforts should be focused. Since the alteration of ilmenite to remove iron is aided by
humic acid developed by the decomposition of organic material near the water table in
hot and humid climates, it follows that the highest TiO2 ilmenites are more likely to be
found in the tropical and temperate regions of the world.
Titanium minerals are dark-colored and their concentration, as in black beach sands,
tends to be fairly readily noticeable against the light brown or white quartz. Many sand
ore bodies, therefore, have been discovered through surface observation of high-grade
placer zones formed on beaches and along the courses of streams, and by following their
traces into the larger, lower grade concentrations which constitute economic ore bodies.
There are areas in which potential heavy mineral concentrations in ancient beach sands
may be masked by younger sand, gravel, or soil. Exploration under these circumstances
then involves interpretation of geomorphic and subsurface geologic data to define areas
which could have been beaches or dunes in the past, and then drilling to obtain samples. ..

Evaluation of Deposits: An economic titanium mineral deposit must have reserves large
enough to support depreciation over a period of at least 10 to 20 or more years. The
capital investment in 1980 was in the range of $75 to $80 million in the U.S. for a mine
and mill plant with an output of 100 to 200 thousand stpy of ilmenite (or equivalent
rutile) with given “normal” geologic parameters. Significant contributions can be made
by zircon and other byproducts. Another general rule is that a new and separate ore body,
if its production is to be all ilmenite which cannot be treated in an existing mill, should
have a minimum reserve of about 1 million tons of recoverable TiO2 in the titanium
minerals. Small, high-grade concentrations are uneconomic under the present conditions.
The definition of economic reserves depends, of course, upon many factors, among them:
Cost of mining and milling, as influenced by depth of overburden (if any); cost of surface
and mineral rights; and availability of water, power, labor, and transportation facilities for
bulk shipments.
Recoverability in mining and milling.
Cost of treatment and disposal of waste slimes.
Cost of waste water treatment and land reclamation.
Distance to markets and cost of transport.

11

Ability of markets to absorb the type of titanium minerals to be produced, and prevailing
prices for titanium minerals and byproducts.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Anon., 1972, “Brazilian Titanium,” Mining Journal, Vol. 278, No. 7121, Feb. 11, pp.
118–119.
Anon., 1974, “Pulmoddai’s Mineral Sands,” Industrial Minerals, No. 77, Feb., p. 27.
Anon., 1974a, “U.S. TiO2 Mine on Stream,” Mining Magazine, Vol. 130, No. 1, Jan., p.
7.
Anon., 1977, “RBM Progress Report,” Sep., Richards Bay Minerals, 4 pp.
Anon., 1978a, “Titania: The Largest Producer of Titanium Minerals in Europe,” Mining
Magazine, Vol. 139, No. 4, Oct., pp. 365–371.
Anon., 1978b, “Rautaurunklci—A Major Force in World Vanadium Supplies Is Still
Expanding,” World Mining, Mar., pp. 44–46.
Anon., 1980a, “Titanio, Anuário Mineral Brasileiro,” Brasilia, Vol. IX, p. 358.
Anon., 1980b, “Australia’s Mineral Resources: Mineral Sands,” Australian Department
of Trade and Resources, 10 pp.
Anon., 1980c, “Australian Mineral Sands Processing Industry—Potential for Expansion,”
Commonwealth/State Joint Study Group on Raw Materials Processing, Australian
Government Publishing Service, Canberra, pp. 17–18.
Anon., 1980d, “South Africa—Mining at Richards Bay,” Mining Journal, Vol. 295, No.
7579, Nov. 21, pp. 411–413.
Anon., 1981, “Sierra Rutile,” Mining Magazine, Vol. 144, No. 6, June, pp. 458–465.
Bachman, F.E., 1914, “The Use of Titaniferous Ores in the Blast Furnace,” Iron and Steel
Industry Yearbook, pp. 370–419.
Balsley, J.R., Jr., 1943, “Vanadium-Bearing Magnetite-Ilmenite Deposits Near Lake
Sanford, Essex County, New York,” Bulletin 940-D, U.S. Geological Survey, pp. 99–
123.
Barksdale, J., 1966, Titanium, Its Occurrence, Chemistry, and Technology, 2nd ed.,
Ronald Press, New York, 691 pp.
Bateman, A.M., et al., 1951, “Formation of Late Magmatic Oxide Ores,” Economic
Geology, Vol. 46, No. 4, June-July, pp. 404–426.
Beals, M.D., and Merker, L., 1960, “Three New Single Crystal Materials,” Materials in
Design Engineering, Jan., pp. 12–13.
Bishop, E.W., 1956, “Geology and Ground-Water Resources of Highlands County,
Florida,” Report of Investigation 15, Florida Geological Survey, 115 pp.
Brady, E.S., 1981, “China’s Strategic Minerals and Metals—Titanium,” The China
Business Review, Vol. 8, No. 5, Sep.-Oct., pp. 62–65.
Broadhurst, S.D., 1955, “The Mining Industry in North Carolina from 1946 through
1953,” Economic Paper No. 66, North Carolina Dept. of Conservation and Development,
Div. of Min. Resources, pp. 26–27.
Broderick, T.M., 1917, “The Relation of the Titaniferous Magnetites of Northeastern
Minnesota to the Duluth Gabbro,” Economic Geology, Vol. 12, No. 8, Dec., pp. 663–
696.
Brooks, H.K., 1966, “Geological History of the Suwanee River,” Geology of the Miocene
and Pliocene Series in the North Florida-South Georgia Area, N.K. Olson, ed.,
Guidebook for Atlantic Coastal Plain Geological Assn., 7th Field Trip and Southeastern

12

Geological Society, 12th Field Trip, pp. 37–45.
Brun, R.M., 1957, “The Tellnes Story,” Ilmeniten, TITANIA, A/S. Norway, Summer
issue.
Buddington, A.F., 1939, “Adirondack Igneous Rocks and Their Metamorphism,”
Geological Society of America Memoir 7, pp. 19–48.
Carstens, H., 1957, “Investigations of Titaniferous Iron Ore Deposits, Part I Gabbros and
Associated Titaniferous Iron Ore in West-Norwegian Gneisses,” K Norske Vidensk Selsk
Skr., No. 3, 67 pp.
Cooke, C.W., 1941, “Two Shore Lines or Seven?” American Journal of Science, Vol.
239, No. 6, pp. 457–458.
Cooke, C.W., 1945, “Geology of Florida,” Bulletin 29, Florida Geological Survey, 339
pp.
Davidson, D.M., et al., 1946, “Notes on the Ilmenite Deposit at Piney River, Virginia,”
Economic Geology, Vol. 41, No. 7, Nov., pp. 738–748.
Diemer, R.A., 1941, “Titaniferous Magnetite Deposits of the Laramie Range, Wyoming,”
Bulletin No. 31, Geological Survey of Wyoming, 23 pp.
Evrard, P., 1949, “Differentiation of Titaniferous Magmas,” Economic Geology, Vol. 44,
No. 3, May, pp. 210–232.
Fine, M.M., and Frommer, D.W., 1952, “Mineral Dressing Investigation of Titanium Ore
from the Christy Property, Hot Spring County, Arkansas,” Report of Investigations 4851,
U.S. Bureau of Mines, 7 pp.
Fine, M.M., et al., 1949, “Titanium Investigations … The Laboratory Development of
Mineral Dressing Methods for Arkansas Rutile,” Mining Engineering, Vol. 1, No. 12, pp.
447–452.
Fish, G.E., Jr., 1962, “Titanium Resources of Nelson and Amherst Counties, Virginia (In
Two Parts) 1. Saprolite Ores,” Report of Investigations 6094, U.S. Bureau of Mines, 44
pp.
Fish, G.E., Jr., and Swanson, V.F., 1964, “Titanium Resources of Nelson and Amherst
Counties, Virginia (In Two Parts) 2. Nelsonite,” Report of Investigations 6429, U.S.
Bureau of Mines, 25 pp.
Flint, R.F., 1940, “Pleistocene Features of the Atlantic Coastal Plain,” American Journal
of Science, Vol. 238, No. 11, pp. 757–787.
Flint, R.F., 1942, “Atlantic Coastal ‘Terraces’,” Washington Academy of Sciences
Journal, Vol. 32, No. 8, pp. 235–237.
Flint, R.F., 1947, Glacial Geology and the Pleistocene Epoch, John Wiley, New York,
589 pp.
Force, E.R., 1980, “Is the United States Geologically Dependent on Imported Rutile?”
Presented at 4th Industrial Minerals International Congress, Atlanta, GA, 4 pp.
Force, E.R., et al., 1976, “Geology and Resources of Titanium,” Professional Paper 959-
A through F, U.S. Geological Survey.
Frey, E., 1946, “Exploration of Iron Mountain Titaniferous Magnetite Deposits, Albany
County, Wyoming,” Report of Investigations 3968, U.S. Bureau of Mines, 37 pp.
Fryklund, V.C., Jr., and Holbrook, D.F., 1950, “Titanium Ore Deposits of Hot Spring
County, Arkansas,” Bulletin No. 16, Arkansas Research and Development Comm.,
Arkansas Div. Geology, 173 pp.
Fryklund, V.C., Jr., et al., 1954, “Niobium and Titanium at Magnet Cove and Potash

13

Sulphur Springs, Arkansas,” Bulletin 1015-B, U.S. Geological Survey, pp. 23–57.
Garnar, T.E., Jr., 1980, “Heavy Minerals Industry of North America,” Presented at 4th
Industrial Minerals International Congress, Atlanta, GA, 13 pp.
Geis, H.P., 1971, “A Short Description of the Iron-Titanium Provinces of Norway, with
Special Reference to Those in Production,” Minerals Science Engineering, Vol. 3, No. 3,
pp. 13–24.
Gillson, J.L., 1959, “Sand Deposits of Titanium Minerals,” Trans. SME-AIME, Vol. 214,
pp. 421–429; Mining Engineering, Vol. 11, No. 4.
Grogan, R.M., et al., 1964, “Milling at Du Pont’s Heavy Mineral Mines in Florida,”
Milling Methods in the Americas, N. Arbiter, ed., Gordon and Breach, New York, pp.
205–229.
Gross, S.O., 1968, “Titaniferous Ores of the Sanford Lake District, New York,” Ore
Deposits in the United States, 1963/1967, John D. Ridge, ed., AIME, New York, Vol. 1,
pp. 140–153.
Guimond, R., 1964, “Quebec Iron and Titanium Corporation, A Study in Growth,”
Canadian Mining Journal, Vol. 85, No. 11, pp. 47–53.
Guise, F.P., et al., 1964, “Titanium in the Southeastern United States,” Information
Circular 8223, U.S. Bureau of Mines, 30 pp.
Hammond, P., 1949, “Allard Lake Ilmenite Deposits,” Canadian Mining Metallurgical
Bulletin, Vol. 42, pp. 117–121.
Hammond, P., 1952, “Allard Lake Ilmenite Deposits,” Economic Geology, Vol. 47, No.
6, Sep.-Oct., pp. 634–649.
Hargraves, R.B., 1959, “Petrology of the Allard Lake Anorthosite Suite and
Paleomagnetism of the Ilmenite Deposits (Quebec),” Ph.D. Thesis, Princeton University,
Princeton, NJ, May, 193 pp.
Harki, I., et al., 1956, “Discovery and Mining Methods at Finland’s Largest Fe-Ti-V
Mine,” Mining World, Vol. 18, Aug., p. 62.
Heyburn, M.M., 1960, “Geological and Geophysical Investigation of the Sanford Hill
Ore Body Extension, Tahawus, New York,” Unpublished M.S. Thesis, Syracuse
University, Syracuse, NY, 48 pp
Hillhouse, D.M., 1960, “Geology of the Piney River-Roseland Titanium Area, Nelson
and Amherst Counties, Virginia,” Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic
Institute, Blacksburg, VA, 169 pp.
Hoyt, J.H., 1967, “Pleistocene Shore Lines: Guide to Tectonic Movements, Northern
Florida and Southern Georgia,” Abstracts, 1967 Annual Meeting, Geological Society of
America, New Orleans, LA, p. 104.
Hubaux, A., 1956, “Various Types of Black Ores of the Egersund Norway Region,”
Bulletin 79, Ann. Soc. Geol. Belg., pp. 203–215.
Jennings, E.P., 1913, “A Titaniferous Iron Ore Deposit in Boulder County, Colorado,”
AIME Trans, Vol. 44, pp. 14–25.
Kays, M.A., 1965, “Petrographic and Modal Relations, Sanford Hill Titaniferous
Magnetite Deposit,” Economic Geology, Vol. 60, No. 6, Sep.-Oct., pp. 1261–1297.
Kish, L., 1972, “Vanadium in the Titaniferous Deposits of Quebec,” CIM Bulletin, Mar.,
pp. 117–123.
Li, T.M., 1973, “Startup of Manchester Mine and Mill Boosts U.S. Production of Primary
Ilmenite,” Engineering Mining Journal, Dec., pp. 71–75.

14

Lissiman, J.C., and Oxenford, R.J., 1973, “The Allied Mineral N.L. Heavy Mineral
Deposit in Eneabba, W.A.,” Conference Volume, Australasian Institute of Mining
Metallurgy, pp. 153–161.
Lister, F.G., 1966, “The Composition and Origin of Selected Iron-Titanium Deposits,”
Economic Geology, Vol. 61, No. 2, Mar.-Apr., pp. 275–310.
Llewellyn T.O., and Sullivan, G.V., 1980, “Recovery of Rutile from a Porphyry Copper
Tailings Sample,” Report of Investigations 8462, U.S. Bureau of Mines, 18 pp.
Lynd, L.E., 1983, “Titanium,” Mineral Commodity Profile, U.S. Bureau of Mines, 17 pp.
MacNeil, F.S., 1949, “Pleistocene Shore Lines in Florida and Georgia,” Shorter
Contributions to General Geology, Professional Paper 221-F, U.S. Geological Survey, pp.
93–106.
Markewicz, F.J., 1969, “Ilmenite Deposits of the New Jersey Coastal Plain,” Geology of
Selected Areas of New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania and Guidebook of Excursions, S.
Subitzky, ed., Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ, pp. 363–382.
Martens, J.C.H., 1928, “Beach Deposits of Ilmenite, Zircon, and Rutile in Florida,” 19th
Annual Report, Florida Geological Survey, pp. 124–154.
Masten, A.H., 1923, The Story of Adirondac, Princeton Press, Princeton, NJ, 199 pp.
McMurray, L.L., 1944, “Froth Flotation of North Carolina Ilmenite,” Trans. AIME, Vol.
173, 1947; Mining Technology, Jan. 1944.
Merritt, C.A., 1939, “Iron Ores of the Wichita Mountains, Oklahoma,” Economic
Geology, Vol. 34, No. 3, May, pp. 268–286.
Michot, P., 1956, “The Deposits of Black Ores of the Egersund Region,” Bulletin 79,
Ann. Soc. Geol. Belg., pp. 183–201.
Moore, C.H., Jr., 1940, “Origin of the Nelsonite Dikes of Amherst County, Virginia,”
Economic Geology, Vol. 35, No. 5, Aug., pp. 629–645.
Nicholls, G.D., 1955, “The Mineralogy of Rock Magnetism,” Advances in Physics
(Supplement to Philosophical Magazine), Vol. 4, p. 113.
Nilsen, A.E., 1972, “Extraction of Iron from Titaniferous Ores,” U.S. Patent 3,647,414,
Mar. 7.
Osborne, F.F., 1928, “Certain Magmatic Titaniferous Ores and Their Origin,” Economic
Geology, Pt. 1, Vol. 23, No. 7, Nov., pp. 724–761; Pt. 2, Vol. 23, No. 8, Dec., pp. 895–
922.
Parker, G.G., and Cooke, C.W., 1944, “Late Cenozoic Geology of Southern Florida,”
Bulletin 27, Florida Geological Survey, 119 pp.
Paulson, E.G., 1964, “Mineralogy and Origin of the Titaniferous Deposit at Pluma
Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Mexico,” Economic Geology, Vol. 59, No. 5, Aug., pp. 753–767.
Pings, W.B., 1972, “Titanium, Pt. 1,” Colorado School of Mines Industries Bulletin, Vol.
15, No. 4, July, 13 p.
Pings, W.B., 1972a, “Titanium, Pt. 2,” Colorado School of Mines Industries Bulletin,
Vol. 15, No. 5, Sep., 17 pp.
Pinnell, D.B., and Marsh, J.A., 1954, “Summary Geological Report on the Titaniferous
Iron Ore Deposits of the Laramie Range, Albany County, Wyoming,” Mines Magazine,
Vol. 44, No. 5, p. 30.
Pirkle, E.C., and Yoho, W.H., 1970, “The Heavy Mineral Ore Body of Trail Ridge,
Florida,” Economic Geology, Vol. 65, No. 1, Jan.-Feb., pp. 17–30.
Pirkle, E.C., et al., 1974, “The Green Cove Springs and Boulougne Heavy Mineral Sand

15

Deposits of Florida,” Economic Geology, Vol. 69, No. 7, Nov., pp. 1129–1137.
Pirkle, F.L., 1975, “Evaluation of Possible Source Regions of Trail Ridge Sands,”
Southeastern Geology, Vol. 17, No. 2, Dec., pp. 93–114.
Ramdohr, P., 1956, “Die Beziehungen von Fe-Ti Erzen und Magmatischen Gesteinen,”
Bulletin No. 173, Comm. Geol. Finlande, pp. 1–18.
Reed, D.F., 1949, “Investigation of Christy Titanium Deposits, Hot Spring County,
Arkansas,” Report of Investigations 4592, U.S. Bureau of Mines, 10 pp.
Reed, D.F., 1949a, “Investigation of Magnet Cove Rutile Deposits, Hot Spring County,
Arkansas,” Report of Investigations 4593, U.S. Bureau of Mines, 9 pp.
Retty, J.A., 1944, “Lower Romaine River Area, Saguenay County, Quebec,” Report 19,
Quebec Dept. of Mines Geology, pp. 3–29.
Rose, E.R., 1969, “Geology of Titanium and Titaniferous Deposits of Canada,”
Economic Geology Report No. 25, Geological Survey of Canada,

Nuke deal and thorium as Bharatam's vanishing strategic mineral Let us look at the deal from
Uncle Sam's perspective: Aim: desiccate Bharatam energy independence programme using
thorium. Steps taken: 1. privatize mining operations including mining of monazite, ilmenite placer
sands which yield thorium (the private greed will take over and allow the loot of the strategic
mineral). 2. declare the sea-lane close to the placer deposits (Manavalakurichi - Tamilnadu,
Aluva, Chavara -- Kerala, Pulmoddai -- Srilanka area, 30 kms. from Trincomalee under LTTE
control) as international waters (disregarding historic waters status under the UN Law of the Sea
1958; follow-up with operational assertions by sending US naval vessels into the Gulf of
Mannarto assert the international waters claim. 3. effectively create an international waters
boundary between India and Srilanka by the alignmen chosen – a mid-ocean channel passage
disregarding Sir A Ramaswamy Mudaliar Committee report of 1958 which said that such an idea
should be abandoned for specific reasons. 4. by creating a channel, allow the next tsunami and
cyclones to devastate the coastline south and west of Rama Setu so that the thorium reserves
will get lost into the mid-ocean making it difficult and expensive to retrieve the strategic mineral.
This is geopolitics in action with the world's supercop calling the shots. Deal? What deal? Read
Dr. Prasad's views on how the much-publicised thorium as the sheet anchor of Bharatam's
nuclear strategy has been given the short shrift. Is there someone out there caring about
preserving nation's wealth and not allow it to be looted or desiccated? Will the nation's energy
independence goal by fast-tracking thorium-based reactors which have been highlighted by the
brilliant work of scientist Jagannathan, by Dr. Baldev Raj of DAE and by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam be
facilitated by the nuke deal? Govt. of India has to answer the question. Of course, the policy
makers and legislators have to raise the question, in the first place and enforce an answer. Who
will bell the cat? I don't think the Communit legislators will do it because they will find a Hegelian
dialectic to support the deal. I suppose it has to be done by the likes of Dr. Prasad who have
contributed so much to the nation's nuke power status. kalyan Nuclear deal: India has no
leverage *A N Prasad | *August 06, 2007 | 18:53 IST Ever since it was released on August 3, the
much-awaited text of the India-United States nuclear deal has been profusely commented upon
and covered in the media. It is obvious the text has tried to accommodate diverging interests and
constraints of both the parties by clever use of language -- to give an illusory impression that the
concerns are duly reflected. For the sake of public comfort, both parties are saying loudly that
they are free to hold on to their respective rights and legal positions. It means hardly anything as
far as India is concerned. Up against the Hyde Act standing like a Rock of Gibraltar, India has no
leverage to force any of the issues during the innumerable consultations suggested in the text. In
fact, our case was compromised to a large extent when this American act was passed, our prime
minister's assurances to the contrary notwithstanding. We are now in effect reduced to a mere
recipient State mandated by the Hyde Act to carry out a set of dos and don'ts and to strive to earn
a good behaviour report card to become eligible to continue receiving what the Americans can
offer. In the process, slowly but surely, they can gain control and remotely drive our nuclear
programmes in the long run. This deal, through the Hyde Act, gives far too many opportunities to

16

penetrate deep into and interfere even in our three-stage programme to slow down the realisation
of our goal of harnessing our vast resources of thorium for long-term energy security. Two points
in support of this, which have largely missed notice: *One*, the revelation by Nicholas Burns, US
under secretary of state during his interview to the Council on Foreign Relations: 'It had been an
easy quot;strategicquot; choice for Washington when faced with the question -- should we isolate India for
the next 35 years or bring it in partially now (*under safeguards inspection*) and nearly totally in
the future.' *Two*, Article 16.2 of the text says the 123 Agreement shall remain in force for a
period of 40 years and at the end of this initial period each party may terminate by giving six
month's notice. There is no in-built provision for terminating before 40 years even if we were to
suffer for any reason in the implementation of the deal. These 40 years are expected to cover the
period by which we intend to take thorium utilisation to a commercial reality. A coincidence? It is
naive to judge the merits of the deal based purely on the language of the text. The underlying
undercurrents and intentions of the controlling party are important and cannot be wished away as
hypothetical or as their internal matter when they do actually have serious repercussions on our
long-term interests. There has been a careful balancing of US commercial interests with the goal
of bringing India into the non-proliferation hold, an American obsession ever since the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty came into existence in 1970. There have been overt suggestions in the
Hyde Act to the American administration to not only attempt to cap but also try to eventually roll
back our strategic programme and report to the US Congress. Try they will; but whether we are
smart enough to thwart their designs or they manage to succeed -- given the tremendous access
they get through this deal � is something time will tell. Let me turn to some of the most
contentious issues that have not been satisfactorily resolved. *Reprocessing* This has been
stated to be the most hotly debated issue. Let me therefore deal with it in some detail in simple
terms to put things in perspective. Reprocessing is at the core of our three-stage nuclear power
programme. It is the interface between the first and the second stage and again between the
second and the third stage. In the first step, it facilitates extracting plutonium from the spent
uranium fuel and feeding to the fast breeder reactors in the second stage as fuel -- where thorium
fuel is also introduced. When thorium is converted into fissile uranium in the fast reactors, the
same is extracted by reprocessing to be fed into third stage reactors where large-scale thorium
utilisation occurs. It was once estimated that with the limited resources of uranium in the country
more than 350,000 MW of electricity could be produced through thorium utilisation, ensuring long-
term energy security. The steady progress India is making with starting the construction of the
first 500 Mwe prototype fast breeder reactor is an envy of many in the advanced world.
Recognising the key role of reprocessing, development activities were started as early as 1959 --
much before even the first nuclear power reactor became operational at Tarapur in 1969. While
the first power reactor was imported from the US, the first reprocessing facility was built entirely
through indigenous efforts and went into operation in 1965. The irony is, the US -- knowing fully
well our four decades of experience in reprocessing and aware of its importance in our three-
stage programme -- has sought to create impediments and make us beg for reprocessing
consent, that too after accepting us as strategic partner. What hypocrisy! Should we call this
nuclear cooperation or non-cooperation? Is it not obvious that their intention is to place hurdles on
our thorium-utilisation programme right from the beginning? In fact, even though there is what is
called a fast reactor nuclear fuel cycle, not a word is mentioned in the Agreement on fast-reactor
cooperation. The text calls for all future fast breeder reactors to be put under the civilian list for
applying safeguards in perpetuity -- just because plutonium extracted from imported uranium
spent fuel is fed into these reactors. It is a pity our negotiators have chosen not to pursue
extending the cooperation into the area of fast reactors at least to the extent that we should be
able to access the international market for equipment and components which otherwise have to
be produced by Indian industry with considerable effort The way the reprocessing issue has been
resolved certainly does not give any comfort. What has been agreed to is consent in principle,
with the arrangements and procedures to be agreed in the future. Having offered a dedicated
facility for reprocessing imported fuel, we should have got unconditional upfront consent to be
made effective on satisfactory conclusion of safeguards. The intent of the American legislation is
to deny reprocessing rights to NPT countries that don't already have this technology. We cannot
be equated with Japan, which��Burns reportedly said has been used as a model for resolving

17

this issue. I can say from personal knowledge that Japan was totally unhappy in dealing with the
US while negotiating procedures and arrangements in the late 1970s for their reprocess.

An overview of world thorium resources, incentives for further exploration and
forecast for thorium requirements in the near future

Jayaram, K.M.V. (Department of Atomic Energy, Hyderabad (India). Atomic Minerals
Div.)

Abstract

Thorium occurs in association with uranium and rare earth elements in diverse rock
types. It occurs as veins of thorite, uranothorite and monazite in granites, syenites
and pegmatites. Monazite also occurs in quartz-pebble conglomerates, sandstones
and fluviatile and beach placers. Thorium occurs along with REE in bastnaesite, in
the carbonatites. Present knowledge of the thorium resources in the world is poor
because of inadequate exploration efforts arising out of insignificant demand. But,
with the increased interest shown by several countries in the development of Fast
Breeder Reactors using thorium, it is expected that the demand will increase
considerably by the turn of the century. The total known world reserves of Th in RAR
category are estimated at about 1.16 million tonnes. About 31% of this (0.36 mt) is
known to be available in the beach and inland placers of India. The possibility of
finding primary occurrences in the alkaline and other acidic rocks is good, in India.
The other countries having sizeable reserves are Brazil, Canada, China, Norway,
U.S.S.R., U.S.A., Burma, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey and Sri Lanka.
Considering that the demand for thorium is likely to increase by the turn of this
century, it is necessary that data collected so far, globally, is pooled and analysed to
identify areas that hold good promise.

Reference:
Proceedings of a technical committee meeting on utilization of thorium-based
nuclear fuel: current status and perspectives held in Vienna, 2-4 December
1985
International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria)
IAEA-TECDOC--412, pp:8-21
http://hinduthought.googlepages.com/thoriumdeposits.pdf

The accumulation of thorium reserves of India is party attributed to the reworking of
beachsands by seawaves (almost like a cyclotron or sieving operation to remove
small stones from fresh husked paddy by women in India) given the nature of the
ocean currents and the Rama Setu (Adam’s bridge) acting as a barrier to the ocean
currents inducing countercurrents. Views of Prof. Rajamanickam, geomorphologist
and mineralogist: “The coast between Nagapattinam to Nagore, Nagore to
Poompuhar, Colachal and Madras were the places where the strong impact from the
Tsunami was noticed. These were also the places where a high order of ilmenites
was found soon after the Tsunami. For example in the Nagore coast, the pre-
Tsunami heavy mineral content of 14 per cent jumped to 70 per cent of ilmenites
after the Tsunami.”

http://soma-fish.net/stories.php?story=05/08/14/4004215

18

Monazite, a radioactive material, contains 3 to 7% thorium by weight. Ilmenite less
radioactive, contains .05% thorium. http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheNcpsidt=3186552

Chavara mineral division, India Rare Earths Limited. Corporate office:
Plot No.1207,Veer Savakar Marg, Near Siddhi Vinayak Temple, Prabhadevi,Mumbai -
400 028 +91 22 24382042/ 24211630/ 24211851, 24220230 FAX +91 22
24220236 Major Activity : Mining and separation of Heavy Minerals like, Ilmenite,
Rutile, Zircon, Sillimanite, Garnet and Monazite from beach sand. Also engaged in
chemical processing of Monazite to yield Thorium compounds, Rare Earth Chlorides
and Tri-Sodium Phosphate.

Dr. S. Suresh Kumar, Head Tel. No: (0476) 268 0701 – 05 Located 10 Km north of
Kollam, 85 Km from Thiruvananthapuram capital of Kerala and 135 Km by road from
Kochi is perhaps blessed with the best mineral sand deposit of the country.The plant
operates on a mining area containing as high as 40% heavy minerals and extending
over a length of 23 Km in the belt of Neendakara and Kayamkulam. The deposit is
quite rich with respect to ilmenite, rutile and zircon and the mineral-ilmenite happens
to be of weathered variety analyzing 60% TiO2. The present annual production
capacity of Chavara unit engaged in dry as well as wet (dredging/ up-gradation)
mining and mineral separation stands at 1,54,000t of ilmenite, 9,500t of rutile,
14,000t of zircon and 7,000t of sillimanite. In addition the plant has facilities for
annual production of ground zircon called zirflor (-45 micron) and microzir (1-3
micron) of the order of 6,000t and 500t respectively.
http://irel.gov.in/companydetails/Unit.htm

MANAVALAKURICHI (MK) MINERAL DIVISION:

Plant is situated 25 Kms north of Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin), the southern most
tip of the Indian sub-continent. All weather major seaport Tuticorin and the nearest
airport at Thiruvananthapuram are equidistant, about 65 kms from the plant site.
Nagercoil at a distance of about 18 kms from the plant, is the closest major Railway
station. MK plant annually produces about 90,000t ilmenite of 55%. TiO2 grade,
3500t rutile and 10,000t zircon in addition to 3000t monazite and 10,000t garnet
based primarily on beach washing supplied by fishermen of surrounding five villages.
IREL has also mining lease of mineral rich areas wherein raw sand can be made
available in large quantities through dredging operation. In addition to mining and
minerals separation, the unit has a chemical plant to add value to zircon in the form
of zircon frit and other zirconium based chemicals in limited quantities.

RARE EARTHS DIVISION (RED) Aluva:

Unlike the three units of IREL as described earlier, RED is an exclusively value adding
chemical plant wherein the mineral monazite produced by MK, is chemically treated
to separate thorium as hydroxide upgrade and rare earths in its composite chloride
form. It is located on the banks of river Periyar at a distance of 12 Km by road from
Kochi. This plant was made operational way back in 1952 to take on processing of
1400t of monazite every year. However over the years, the capacity of the plant was
gradually augmented to treat about 3600t of monazite. Elaborate solvent extraction
and ion exchange facilities were built up to produce individual R.E. oxides, like oxides
of Ce, Nd, Pr and La in adequate purities. Today RED has built up large stock pile of
impure thorium hydroxide upgrade associated with rare earths and unreacted
materials. Henceforth, RED proposes to treat this hydroxide upgrade rather than

19

fresh monazite to convert thorium into pure oxalate and rare earth as two major
fractions namely Ce oxide and Ce oxide free rare earth chloride.

http://irel.gov.in/companydetails/Unit.htm#MK

The total known world reservesof Thi nRA R category are estimated at about 1.16
million tonnes. About 31% of this (0.36 mt) is known to be available in the beach
and inland placers of India…Prior to the second world war thorium was used widely in
the manufacture of gas mantles, welding rods, refractories andin magnesium based
alloys .Its use as fuel in nuclear energy, in spite of its limited demand as of now and
low forecast, is gaining importance because of its transmutation to 233 u. Several
countries like India, Russia, France and U.K. have shown considerable interest in the
development of fast breeder reactors (FBR) anditisexpected thatbytheturnof this
century someofthe countries would have started commissioning large capacity units…

Beach sands: Although monazite occurs associated with ilmenite and beach sands,
skirting the entire Peninsular India, its economic concentration is confined to only
some areas where suitable physiographic conditions exist.The west coast placers are
essentially beachorbarrier deposits with development of dunes where aeolin action is
prominent in dry months…

Origin of West Coast deposits: …The deposits are formed in four successive
stages:(i) lateritisation of gneissic complexes, (ii) successive mountain uplift and
simultaneous seaward shift of strand line., (iii) reworking
of the beach sands by sea waves, which rise often to a height of 3m.in 12s.period
and (iv) littoral drift caused by the breaking of thewaves faraway from the shore and
consequent northerly movement of lighter minerals along the reflected waves…

In Manavalakurchi, Tamil Nadu, the depositis formed by the quot;southerly tilt of the tip
of the peninsula [9] aided by seasonal variation of sea currents, both in direction and
magnitude [Udas, G.R.,Jayaram, K.M.V., Ramachandran, M and Sankaran,R.,Beach
sand placer deposits of the world vs.
Indian deposits. Plant maintenance and import substitution.1978.35.] …

The reasonably assured resources of thorium in India, form about 31% of the
world's estimated deposits.The reserves could have been several times more if
systematic surveys are carried out…

http://www.iaea.org/inis/aws/fnss/fulltext/0412_1.pdf

Indian ocean currents both east to west and counter currents result in a churning
operation and consequent deposition of heavy minerals such as thorium or titanium.

20

This is a colour version of Figure 11.3 of Regional Oceanography: an Introduction by
M. Tomczak and S. J. Godfrey (Pergamon Press, New York 1994, 422 p.).
http://www.lei.furg.br/ocfis/mattom/regoc/text/11circ.html

Major ocean currents of the world. On this illustration red arrows indicate warm
currents, while cold currents are displayed in blue. (Source: PhysicalGeography.net)
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Ocean_circulation
http://maritime.haifa.ac.il/departm/lessons/ocean/wwr205.gif This map shows the unique
phenomenon of two ocean currents in two opposing direcions operating like a
cyclotron/sieve to isolate heavier minerals with heavy atomic weights such as
Thorium 232 and Titanium.
Beaches of Kerala with thorium sands.

21

http://www.mcdonald.cam.ac.uk/genetics/images/kerala_lowres.jpg

22

Importance of thorium for Bharatam’s strategic program

From BARC website: Thorium deposits - ~ 3,60,000
•
tonnes

The currently known Indian thorium reserves amount
•
to 358,000 GWe-yr of electrical energy and can easily
meet the energy requirements during the next century
and beyond.

India’s vast thorium deposits permit design and operation of U-233 fuelled
•
breeder reactors.

These U-233/Th-232 based breeder reactors are under development and
•
would serve as the mainstay of the final thorium utilization stage of the
Indian nuclear programme.

http://www.barc.ernet.in/webpages/about/anu1.htm This is underscored in a US report:
•
www.carnegieendowment.org/publications where, Tellis, the point-man for Indo-US
nuke deal notes that India reserves of 78,000 metric tons of uranium. The
interests of US are best served by selling uranium and nuke reactors instead
of allowing India to gain self-sufficiency using indigenous thorium reserves.

The extraordinary monograph by Prof. Monu Nalapat, Prof. of Geopolitics in Manipal
University, notes with forthrightness and clarity and unravels the shocking sell-out of
the national interests, national integrity and national security of Bharatam, ignoring
the sage advise of the nation's foremost nuclear scientists. [quote] The Indian
position has been deliberately made murky, given the lack of an adequate official
response to recent statements made by the US that have described the proposed
quot;strategicquot; partnership for what it is—a non-proliferation mechanism intended to
bring India into the now tattered NPT fold as a non-nuclear weapons state. Should
Congress finally get their way and force this agreement on the nation, not only
should the pact be torn up by the successor government, but both should be
prosecuted for high treason. [unquote]
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Contentpa=showpagepid=177page=2

The issue of
thorium as
the nuclear
fuel which will
unleash the
nuclear
potential of
Bharatam has
been
underscored
in the BARC
website. One
of the
principal earth
science

23

reasons for the accumulation of thorium resources on Kerala beaches is the
oscillating, sieving action of the ocean currents around Ramasetu. Incursive channel
in an arbitrarily drawn medial line between Bharatam and Srilanka as a defacto
boundary of international waters, discarding the age-old rights as 'historic waters'
under the UN Law of the Sea, is a serious dereliction of responsibility on the part of
the Setusamudram Channel Project designers. PM and UPA Chairperson have to
explain to the nation for the undue haste and carelessness in choosing an alignment
impacting on RamSetu while five other alternative channels closer to the Bharatam
coastline were available. Was the new, arbitrarily drawn medial line as the channel
alignment influenced by US Navy Operational Directives of 23 June 2005? Is it mere
coincidence that the inauguration of SSCP takes place within a week thereafter, on 2
July 2005 ignoring the imperative subjecting the impact of a future tsunami on the
integrity of the coastline if the present chosen alignment is implemented? Together
with the destruction of Kerala, will it impact on the harnessing of the thorium
resource as the foundation fuel for the nuclear programme of Bharatam? As the trial
for treason unravels, in case Bharatam succumbs to US geopolitical pressures, a lot
of questions will have to be raised and answered. Was the PM satisfied by the
answers (provided on 30 June 2005) to the 16 questions raised by PMO on 8 March
2005?

The US study pointing to the urgency of striking the Indo-US nuclear deal can be
downloaded from www.carnegieendowment.org/publications: Tellis notes that India
reserves f 78,000 metric tons of uranium.

•eight reactors allocating a quarter of their cores for the production of weapons-
grade material, uranium needed would be: 19,965 to 29,124 tons. T two research
reactors will need 938 to 1,088 tons.

• These would yield India 12,135 to 13,370 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium.

•Thorium blanket as fuel will be the nuclear fuel of the future for Bharatam, which
has the largest reserves of thorium in the world. A team of scientists led by Dr. VJ
Loveson of the CISR New Delhi, studying placer deposits in the area, says an
estimated 40 million tonnes of Titanium alone has been deposited in the entire
stretch of 500 km. coastline.

The message is loud and clear: somehow, Bharatam should be dissuaded from
pursuing an independent, self-reliant nuclear programme using thorium blanket on
fast-breeder reactors.

With thorium resources accumulated thanks to the ocean currents and counter
currents facilitated by Rama Setu, the consequences will be serious if the next
tsunami were to desiccate these resources together with the devastation of the
coastline of Tamilnadu and Kerala.

S. Kalyanaraman
13 August 2007 kalyan97@gmail.com

24

India's Mines and Minerals Regulatory Authority for strategic minerals

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Was ist angesagt?

Was ist angesagt? (9)

Andere mochten auch

Andere mochten auch (7)

Ähnlich wie India's Mines and Minerals Regulatory Authority for strategic minerals

Ähnlich wie India's Mines and Minerals Regulatory Authority for strategic minerals (20)

Mehr von Srinivasan Kalyanaraman

Mehr von Srinivasan Kalyanaraman (20)

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

India's Mines and Minerals Regulatory Authority for strategic minerals