Minerals of Telangana

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Minerals of Telangana

  • Minerals are of great economic value and have occupied a characteristic place amongst all the economic resources.
  • Minerals and mineral industries have significant macro links with the economy of a country.
  • Mining activity generates employment opportunities; is obviously an important source of tax revenue and contributes to national income thereby leading to economic growth.
  • In view of the significance minerals-hold in Telangana, the paper makes an attempt to list out all the mineral occurrences of the State and the way forward for socio-economic growth.
  • The newly separated Telangana state from the state of united Andhra Pradesh has a unique geological set up that can host a variety of mineral deposits of economic value.
  • The state Telangana has an area of 112955 Sq.Km, bounded by N latitudes 15 degree 46’ and 19 degree 47’ and E longitudes 77 degree 16’ and 81 degree 43’.
  • Though several public organizations have discovered various mineral deposits, still there exists a huge scope for further detailed exploration in search of new mineral deposits in the state and involvement of private/multinational companies has been started just in the last decade.
  • There is significant mineral potential that still lay untapped in Telangana for the growth of mining industry.
  • Now that a separate State has been formed, a systematic regulatory and administrative procedures, infrastructure facilities leading to sustainable exploration and mining activity needs to be formulated.
  • The challenges like lack of sufficient water storage systems, infrastructure etc. have limited the overall investment in mining and exploration activities in the state for the past few decades.

Metallic minerals

Chromite:

  • In the Khammam district the mineral occurs mostly as float ore.
  • Though at places it is noticed in situ in the form of lenticular pockets in ultrabasic rocks like pyroxenite, serpentinite etc.
  • In localities near Bhimavaram , Gauraram , Jannavaram, and Imamnagar and Enkuru a total of 2,500 tonnes of float and few hundred tonnes of in situ ore are estimated for these occurrences.
  • This area deserves further exploration not only for chromite but for minerals of platinoid group.

Copper:

  • Copper mineralisation is observed in the Mailaram area of Khammam district in Dharwar quartz-chlorite schist’s, intruded by grey and blue quartz veins with Cu% between 1.5-1.7.
  • Chalcopyrite occurs as disseminations and stringers associated with pyrite and pyrrhotite.
  • As per GSI the zone of copper mineralisation extends for a strike length of 800 m with a reserve of 0.814 metric tonnes.
  • At Venkatapuram, chalcopyrite associated with pyrite and pyrrhotite is observed in minor veins of quartz traversing the Pakhal quartzites and dolomites and in the quartz-chlorite schists of the Dharwars holding a mineralised zone ranging in thickness from 1.5 to 5.30 m. for a strike length of 200 m. The Cu content ranges from 0.64 to 1.58 per cent.
  • Indications of sparse Cu mineralisation are also noticed near Banjar, Mainkawaram, Rabingudem, Sarkal and Yellambailu. In current scenario of copper metal prices, this area deserves further exploration with advanced technology.

Gold:

  • Alluvial gold is said to have been worked from near the confluence of Kinnerasani river with the Godavari in the Khammam district and also near Mangampet in the Warangal district.
  • Of late, exploration activity by GSI is being carried out to test the gold potential in Atkur Block, Gadwal Schist Belt, Mahbubnagar district.

Manganese:

  • In the Adilabad district manganese ore with very low phosphorous content occurs as thin lenses admixed with chert and jasper within Penganga limestones at Gowlighat, Goatkur, Jamdapur and Chanda for a strike length of 7.8 km.
  • A reserve of 1,17000 tons with average grade of 39.6% of Mn. Low grade manganese-ore occurs as encrustations near Ratampet and Kandali in the Nizamabad district.

Iron-ore:

  • Isolated patches of banded magnetite quartzites occur near Chityal Kallada Dasturabad and Robanpalli, Lakshettipet and Utnoor in the Adilabad district mostly as NW-SE trending BIF bands.
  • About 16 million tonnes of low grade ore are estimated here.
  • In the Khammam district iron-ore deposits exist between Cheruvupuram, Bayyaram and Navapadu and Kothagudem.
  • These are broadly classified into iron-ore associated with Pakhals and iron-ore associated with banded-hematite quartzite of Dharwar age.
  • The deposits of first group are richer and larger. The total reserve in this area on the basis of a preliminary investigation has been estimated at 11 million tonnes. T
  • he hill 1905 about 5 km. north of Bayyaram contains two bands of high grade iron-ore one of the bands having an average thickness of 6 m. is estimated to contain 1,06,000 tonnes of high grade ore and 6,00,000 tonnes of low grade ore.
  • The other band with an average thickness of about 15 m. is estimated to contain 72, 60,000 tonnes of all grades of ore.
  • Along the northern flank of the hill, reserve of 6,25,000 tonnes of high grade ore and 3,12,000 tonnes of low grade float ore is estimated.
  • Detrital iron-ore occurs near Ramagundal, Hematite-quartzite suitable as ironore is present in the Motala-Timmapur .

Minerals of Telangana

 

Non-metallic Minerals of Telangana

Asbestos:

  • Cross-fibre chrysotile asbestos varying in length from a few mm. to 40 mm. occurs in the serpentinised Vempalle dolomites at Somsil.
  • The cumulative fibre length exceeds 50 mm.
  • A zone of serpentinization with intermittently developed asbestos fibres has been identified for a length of 800 meters.

Garnet:

  • A garnet-kyanite-mica schist constitutes an entire hill at Garibpet, in the Khammam district, with garnet % of 11 to 19.
  • The reserve is estimated to be 31 million tonnes. In the localities south-west of Yellandlapad in the Khammam district, garnet is found in abundance in garnet-staurolite schist.

Barytes:

  • In the Khammam district occurrences of barytes are confined to a narrow belt of the Pakhals about 6.5 km east of Khammam town.
  • The important occurrences are at Rudramkota Venkatayapalem, Ballapet, Kodamur and Cheruvupuram Barytes occurs as lenses, stringers and veins varying in width from a few centimetres to six metres. Barytes is reported from near Bollaram and 1.6 km.
  • NE of Virabhadradurgam in the Mahbubnagar district.
  • Veins ranging in thickness from 1 m. to 3.2 meters are noticed in sheared zones in the Vempalle dolomite and quartzites.

Amethyst:

  • To the south of Karimnagar, at Sandral, crystalline amethyst forms several layers alternating with white quartz in drusy cavities of fissure veins which trend between WNW-ESE and NW-SE.
  • Amethyst and amethestene quartz veins occur also at Ramanapalli near Siddipet, Medak district, and at Abdul Nagaram, Mekalgattu and Peddapadu in Warangal district.

Coal:

  • The Pranhita- Godavari valley is known for its coal reserves for more than a century.
  • Coal bearing Gondwana rocks occupy parts of the Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Nizambad and Warangal districts.
  • The coal bearing Barakar occurs at numerous localities, but is always overlain by the younger Kamthi sandstones and shales.
  • The Gondwanas, mainly the younger Kamthis occupy an area exceeding 11,000 Sq.Km. in the state, but the exposures of the Barakar are few and far berween.
  • The coalfields of the State have been divided into separate units and they are North Wardha, Asifabad, Tandur, Kanala, North Godavari and Sarangapalli, Chinnur, South Godavari, Kamawaram, Allapalli, Singareni, Kothagudem, Polancha and Sivapuram and being mined by Singareni Colleries Company Ltd., (SCCL).
  • The SCCL has made the estimates of the reserves of coal in their lease-hold areas.
  • The proposed open-cast and underground extractable reserves are 223.4 and 149.1 respectively

Corrundum:

  • Corundum occurs in nepheline synites at Rangapur and in ultrabasic rocks at Gobbuguriti, Near Tadakalapudi. The mineral is associated with kyanite and fuchsitemuscovite-sericite rock.
  • Occurrence of semi-precious corundum of abrasive variety and rare occurrences of gem variety are observed in the exploration pits at Lakshmipuram where the host rock is sillimanite-corundum schistose rock.
  • At Gobbagurti and Singaraipalem corundum occurs in association with kyanite schists.
  • However, at Lallurgudem corundum occurs as placer concentrations in the upper soil.
  • In the Nalgonda district corundum occurs around Pedagudem, Timmapur, Lingampalle and Anvalgudem villages of Miryalguda taluk.

Graphite:

  • Numerous isolated occurences of graphite are present in the Khammam district between Ipalapadu and Sigurumamidi and the important occurrences are in the vicinity of Gopannagudem, Kantlum, Kavarigundla, Gundlamadugu,Bolapalle, Chittemreddipadu, Sidharam and Kunkulgoyapaka .

Quartz:

  • Large deposits of vein quartz occur cutting across the granites near Kukatpalli, Ghamsabad and Timmapur close to Hyderabad city.
  • These are being extensively exploited for crushing to silica sand by local factories.
  • Glass-grade vein quartz occurs in Tadepalle in the Khammam district.
  • White quartz veins extending for few 100s of meters are noticed near Shadnagar railway station in Mahabubnagar district.
  • Quartz veins occur at Andole and Palampet in the Medak district. Glass-grade quartz quarries are also reported from Chimarajupenta in Nizamabad district.
  • Not only for glass, but also fine powder (100 micros) of milky quartz is being exported for making artificial building stones from mines in Andhra Pradesh, a similar industry needs to be developed in the Telangana state too.

Galena:

  • In Khammam district, galena is noticed as sporadic disseminations in episodotised granites in the locality about a kilometer SSW of Niradu.
  • Sparse disseminations of galena are found in tremolite marble belonging to the Pakhals in the locality about 2 km NE of Jestaipalle.
  • Similar occurences of galena associated with malachite and azurite are noticed in barytes veins in Pakhal limestone in the Rudramakota of Khammam district.

Dolomite:

  • The good quality flux grade dolomite is reported between Raghunathapalem, Madharam and Vemulanarava in Khammam district.
  • A reserve of 88 m. tonnes is estimated for a 150 m. thick band for over a strike length of 32 km. upto a depth of 6 m.
  • Currently Madharam mines cater to the needs of Vizag Steel Plant.

Feldspar:

  • Pegmatites around the village Nidmanur, Damarcherla and Charkonda of Nalgonda district contain good quality feldspar which can be easily separated from the gangue minerals by hand picking.
  • Also minor incidences of feldspars are reported from granitoids and gneisses of Mahbubnagar district

 

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