Chennai: After six years of platinum exploration in two places Tamil Nadu, geologists from Geological Survey of India have decided to go in for a 300-metre drilling operation in Sithampundi in Nammakal.
With preliminary drilling exploration up to 30 metres showing positive signs of platinum availability, Sithampundi will witness in-depth drilling from next month, said Mr S. Raju, deputy director general, Geological Survey of India.
A cumulative strike length of about 2.5 km has been identified and field tests will continue on the site for the next three years and 2018 could be one to celebrate if Sithampundi proves to be rich in platinum. Initial exploration for dunite and graphite in Namakkal (Valasaraman village) and Sivaganga (Poovandhi village) are also encouraging, Mr Raju said. GSI would now depute additional geologists and drilling crew in all three sites, he said.
Expressing concern that the iron ore found in Tamil Nadu is low quality, he said that in future the industry and the scientific community ought to explore the options of utilising the abundant ferrous content available in TN. According to GSI sources, Tamil Nadu has rich sources of minerals and there are rocks found with rich magnesium oxide content of above 30 per cent. With an eye on industrial minerals, a few areas of TN are coming through as areas of interest.
Solvanur in Erode had also confirmed mafic and ultramafic rocks with dunite and pyroxenite composition, sources said.According to GSI sources, geologists are now in to into macro and micro seismic investigations to study the relevance of earthquakes and seismotectonic activities.
Further, continuous operation, monitoring, acquisition and analysis of seismic data will be continued from broadband seismograph observatories at Jabalpur and Nagpur and the data will be contributed to the national network.
Talking about other explorations in Tamil Nadu, GSI sources said GPS stations were studying 3D seismic structures of Andaman Nicobar Islands and as part of landslide inventory a stretch covering 150 kilometres of Western Ghat roads is being studied.
