Minerals Rich natural resources in Bangaru Telangana

Minerals Rich natural resources in Bangaru Telangana
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Highlights

Telangana region has rich natural resources. About 45 per cent of the forest area in Andhra Pradesh state is in Telangana region while 20 per cent of the country’s coal deposits in the country are also found here.

Telangana region has rich natural resources. About 45 per cent of the forest area in Andhra Pradesh state is in Telangana region while 20 per cent of the country’s coal deposits in the country are also found here.

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 15o 46’ and 19o 47’and E longitudes 77o16’ and 81o43’ . 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.

The Singareni Collieries Company Limited excavates coal from these mines for industrial needs and thermal power stations.

Telangana is also rich in limestone deposits that cater to cement factories. Telangana has other mineral resources like bauxite and mica.
The top three districts in terms of mining revenue are from Telangana. That is a whopping 79% of the revenue from top 5 mining districts comes from Telangana. If this is the situation now, imagine what would happen when revenue from Bayyaram Iron Ore mines, which is estimated at several lakhs of crores, starts coming in.
Top Mining Districts in Telangana
Regional Shares in Top Mining Districts

With huge granite deposits in Ranga Reddy district and kimberlite pipe (diamond) deposits in Mahbubnagar district, Telangana is a mineral rich state and has huge scope for mineral based industries, opined geophysicists.

“Not just granite and kimberlite pipe deposits but we have iron ore, feldspar, quartz, among other deposits in Telangana.
Already a study is on to assess the quantity and quality of iron ore at Bayyaram and to identify kimberlite pipe deposits in Mahabubnagar district,” said B Madhusudan Rao, Professor of Geophysics and chairman of Board of Studies at Geophysics department in Osmania University.

A seminar to discuss the latest trends in geophysical exploration was held in Hyderabad on Saturday. Geophysicists and research scholars discussed the mineral sources available in Telangana on the occasion.

Both the research projects undertaken up by Geophysics department at Bayyaram for iron ore and in Mahabubnagar district for kimberlite pipes will be completed in two months, said Ram Raj Mathur, professor of Geophysics, who is part of the team conducting a study on on kimberlite pipe deposits.

Telangana, on the other hand, includes Hyderabad and the rich mineral belt in its northern districts of Adilabad, Khammam, Karimnagar and Warangal.

So how does Telangana manage it? Though it has less fertile land, it has far richer mineral resources. This has also enabled the growth of industry in the state. The fact that there is a large proportion of wasteland and lower proportion of forests will enable it to ramp up both mining and mining-based industry. But Telangana’s most important asset is Hyderabad and all the benefits that the catchment districts of Rangareddy and even beyond can derive from it.

The Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has produced the highest ever production of 27.20 million tonnes (MT) of coal during the first half of 2015-16 against target of 25.09 MT with 108 per cent achievement. It recorded 27.46 per cent growth over previous year production of 21.34 MT during the same period.
It has dispatched 28.34 MT coal to its customers recording 14.55 per cent growth over previous year during same period. The supply of 24.74 MT was the highest ever dispatch by the company till now. SCCL in general met the requirement of power utilities, captive power plants, cement and other industries. This year excavated overburden is 139.99 M.Cu.m as against target of 131.76 M.Cu.m.
This represents 106 per cent increase over last year excavation of 113.71 M.Cu m. Meanwhile, the Coal India registered 8.9 per cent growth with production of 229.54 MT coal during first half year “SCCL is taking all necessary steps for increase and supply of coal to power units in Telangana for all round development of the State.
Conclusion
Telangana state is endowed with a variety of mineral occurrences present in different geological environments. The mining operations are limited to only few principal minerals currently. The need for a well-planned programme of survey and exploration, transparent system in awarding reconnaissance, prospecting and mining permits, management of resources which have already been discovered and those which are in the process of discovery and their optimal, economical and timely use are the matters of vital importance requiring comprehensive planning, adequate funding and coordinated successful execution and setting up mineral based industries like fertilizers, glass, abrasives and refractory’s etc. Such sort of innovative thought process will definitely help boosting socio-economic growth, by the mineral and mining sector, in the newly separated Telangana state.
G.Rajendra Kumar
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