Anantapur: Lockdown pushes soapstone industry into doldrums

Anantapur: Coronavirus lockdown which has brought all industrial and mining activity to a grinding halt has caused huge loss to the business establishments engaged in the optimum exploitation of soapstone mineral abundantly available in the Rayalaseema districts of Kadapa, Kurnool, Chittoor and Anantapur.

Tadipatri is rich in cement grade limestone deposits. The limestone reserves are extending in a triangle from Tadipatri in Anantapur district to Kamalapuram in Kadapa district and Bethamcherla in Kurnool district.

The rocks in Tadipatri in area are part of the Lower Kadapa supergroup. The raw material dubbed as 'soapstone' is widely used in cosmetics, soap making, refractories, sculptures, toothpastes, chewing gums and in a host of other unthinkable and unheard of, products.

In Rayalaseema districts alone, something like eight million tonnes of soapstone deposits are available and they are being supplied to a host of industries in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Krishnapatnam and other sea ports in coastal districts. Many political leaders of different political parties have stakes in the multi-million-dollar industry. About 10 to 15 loads of the soapstone raw material is transported every day from Anantapur district alone and the Rayalaseema districts account for transporting 1,000 lorries of the most sought-after raw material every month.

Rajani Kanth, soapstone supply dealer, told The Hans India that the one-month long lockdown had resulted in huge losses to companies dependent on the raw material as manufacturing of cosmetics and soaps etc had come to a standstill. Ranganna, a mine worker in Tadipatri, regretted that workers like him have lost their livelihood for over a month.

Soapstone is a metamorphic rock. There are two different materials popularly called soapstone. The first being talc, the softest mineral on earth, mostly used in the manufacturing of cosmetics, refractory materials, sculptures, and everyday items such as toothpaste, baby powder and

even chewing gum. The rock steatite (also called soapstone) is the material used for countertops, sinks, masonry heaters, flooring, and many other architectural applications. Steatite was also used to "coat" the famous 'Christ the Redeemer' statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.