Vizag beach too has key minerals

The coastal area between Tandava river confluence and Varaha river confluence is about 30 km long with an average width of 800 metre. AMD found that beach sands of this area contain heavy minerals such as garnet, ilmenite, sillimanite, rutile, zircon and monazite.

Around 33 per cent of these sands contain ilmenite that has about 48-50 per cent titanium which is used in garter springs of a nuclear reactor and in paints, cosmetics and skin care products industry. AMD had studied and done the exploration of the Varaha-Tandava deposits in three phases. The researchers found that beach sands of this area contain garnet of about 35 per cent, followed by ilmenite of 33 per cent and sillimanite 28 per cent and the remaining is represented by rutile, zircon and monazite, which is a source for thorium and other rare earth elements.

Thorium forms the fuel for nuclear reactors. “Visage district too has heavy mineral deposits like that of Srikakulam coast. These minerals found along Varaha and Tandava river confluence are deposited due to the natural geological agents migration from the nearby hills,” said Professor Emeritus of Andhra University’s geology department, Prof. C. Kasipathy.

However, he said further exploration needed to be done to know and understand the amount of these mineral deposits and whether viable for commercial mining. The expert in mineral exploration pointed that these minerals have heavy demand in foreign countries. Ilemenite from Srikakulam cost is already been exported.