Department of Mining and Geology , Gov t.

of K erala

MINERAL RESOURCES OF KERALA

Kerala State is endowed with a number of occurrences/deposits of
minerals such as H eav y M ineral Sands ( I lmenite, R utile, Z ircon,
M onaz ite, Sillimanite) , G old, I ron ore, B aux ite, G raphite, C hina C lay , Fire
C lay , T ile and B rick C lay , Silica Sand, L ig nite, L imestone, L imeshell,
D imension Stone ( G ranite) , G emstones, M ag nesite, Steatite etc. H owev er,
mining activ ities on larg e scale are confined mainly to a few minerals -
H eav y M ineral Sands, C hina C lay and to a lesser ex tent
L imestone/L imeshell, Silica Sand and G ranite. I n fact, H eav y mineral
sand and C hina C lay contribute more than 9 0 % of the total v alue of
mineral production in the State.

MINERAL BASED INDUSTRIES IN THE STATE

T he State owns mineral deposits lik e placers, china clay ( k aolin) ,

limestone, limeshell, silica sand, baux ite, g raphite, iron ore, g ranite etc.
T he maj or mineral based industries lik e I ndian R are E arths L td.,
C hav ara, Kerala M inerals and M etals L td., C hav ara, M alabar C ements,
W alay ar, T rav ancore cements L td., Kottay am, Kundara C eramics,
Kollam, E ng lish I ndian C lay s L td. ( E I C L ) , T hiruv ananthapuram, E x cel
G lass I ndustry , A lappuz ha, Kerala C lay s and C eramic P roducts L td.,
P alay ang adi, Kannur are some of the mineral based industries work ing
in the State since sev eral y ears. T he resources of beautiful ornamental
g ranites in the state are being ex ported to different countries.

DETAILS O F INDIV IDUAL MINERAL DEP O SITS

MINERAL SAND

T he H eav y M ineral Sand deposits in Kerala contain an assemblag e of

I lmenite, R utile, L eucox ene, M onaz ite, Z ircon and Sillimanite. T he State
possesses one of the world class deposits of mineral sands in the coastal
tracts between N eendak ara and Kay amk ulam. T his, commonly k nown as
the Chavara deposit, after the main locality ,
cov ers a total leng th of 2 2 k m and a width of
about 8 k m in the northern side and 6 k m in the
southern side. T he C hav ara barrier beach
portion contains concentration of heav y minerals
abov e 6 0 % . T he C hav ara deposit is estimated to
contain 1 2 7 million tonnes of heav y minerals
with ilmenite content of 8 0 million tonnes from the total reserve of raw
sand of the order of 1 4 0 0 million tonnes. I n the northern portion bey ond
Kay amk ulam P oz hi ex tending up to T hottappally in A lappuz ha district,
the total reserve of heav y minerals estimated to the order of 1 7 million

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 Department of Mining and Geology , Gov t. of K erala

tonnes with ilmenite content of 9 million tonnes from the raw sand of
2 4 2 million tonnes.

C hav ara barrier beach with a width of 2 2 5 m is

div ided into 8 block s numbered I to V I I I for
separating ilmenite for the manufacture of T iO 2 .
T he block s are apportioned between Kerala
M inerals and M etals L td. ( KM M L ) , a State
G ov ernment undertak ing and I ndian R are
E arths L td. ( I R E ) , a G ov ernment of I ndia
enterprise under the D epartment of A tomic
E nerg y .

A part from the C hav ara heav y mineral deposits a number of heav y
mineral placers hav e been delineated in different parts of the State.

In million tonnes
# Locality Total Ilmenite Rutile Zircon Monazite Sillimanite
heavy
minerals
1 Chavara Major 127.09 79.45 5.38 4.82 0.82 28.72
Deposit
2 Northern contiguity 16.93 9.03 0.64 0.40 0.17 5.66
of Chavara deposit*
3 Southern Kerala^ 1.83 1.15 0.11 0.12 0.05 0.27
4 Northern Kerala$ 3.35 0.53 0.01 0.05 0.003 0.80
* Kayamkulam-Arattupuzha-Thrikkunnapuzha-Thottapally
^ Kannimalssery-Neendakara-Maleppuram-Odetti, Anjengo-Vettoor, Veli-Kazhakuttom,
Vizhinjam-Kovalam-Pachallur
$ Valapattanam-Azhikode, Ponnani-Chavakkadu

G O LD

G old occurs in Kerala both as primary and placer deposits. T he k nown

occurrences are mainly in W ay anad-
N ilambur reg ions. D iscov ery of g old in
A ttapady v alley of P alak k ad district is new
and promising . M ining activ ity in the
W ay anad G old Field was abandoned in the
early part of the 2 0 th century . T he main
reason for this appears to be the discov ery
of the v ery rich g old deposits in Kolar G old
Field in Karnatak a around that time. Primary gold in quartz veins (Maruda)

I nv estig aiton/ex ploration initiated by the G eolog ical Surv ey of I ndia ( G SI )

during the 1 9 5 0 ' s and 1 9 6 0 ' s concluded that the W ay anad G old Field
deserv es more detailed studies and that ex ploratory mining in selected

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 Department of Mining and Geology , Gov t. of K erala

proj ects could prov e to be economically work able. Following this, the
U nited N ations assisted Kerala M ineral E x ploration & D ev elopment
P roj ect of the State ( now merg ed with D epartment of M ining and G eolog y )
studied the g old placers in C haliy ar and P unnapuz ha riv ers draining
N ilambur v alley . E x ploration for primary g old was also tak en up which
resulted in delineating the M aruda prospect. T wo other prospects of
interest hav e also been identified close to M aruda v iz . M annucheeni and
T hannik k adav u.

D epartment of M ining and G eolog y throug h a detailed inv estig ation has
established a reserv e of 0 .5 5 million tonnes of g rade of 4 g /tonne of g old
in M arudp, N ilambur, M alappuram D istrict Further ex ploration is
req uired for planning a commercial v enture for mining and ex traction of
g old.

E x ploration throug h test pits carried out in placer deposits of N ilambur

v alley along the riv ers P unnapuz ha and C haliy ar puz ha hav e indicated
reserv es of the order of 2 .5 M illion m3 of placers with 0 .1 g m/m3 of g old.
P ossible reserv es of the order of 3 0 M illion m3 of placers were also
proj ected for the area. I n v iew of the g ap in technolog y for mining of g old
placers in the country , a prog ram for ex ploration and pilot scale mining
was tak en up during 1 9 9 4 -' 9 6 throug h French A ssistance ( B R G M ) . T he
studies confirmed the incidence of g old on the present day riv er channel
with an av erag e g rade of 0 .1 g /m3 . T he g eochemical surv ey cov ering 5 7 0
k m2 to locate alluv ial g old placers in N ilambur v alley has indicated 1 5
anomaly areas for further studies.

I nv estig ations by G eolog ical Surv ey of I ndia ( G SI ) during 1 9 9 1 -9 2 hav e

rev ealed the occurrence of primary g old in A ttapady V alley , P alak k ad
district Sy stematic stream sediment sampling had helped in delineating
these parallel prospectiv e z ones ex tending 1 0 -2 2 k m with a width ov er 2
k m in the western termination of the B hav ani Shear Z one, W ithin these
z ones 1 2 prospects hav e been identified for detailed prospecting . I n
Kottathara prospect, 0 .0 8 million tonnes of g old hav e been established
ov er a lode leng th of 2 5 0 m and a true width of 2 .3 9 m with an av erag e
g rade of 1 2 .9 8 g /t. W ork is being continued in the adj oining N aik u P adi
and in the ex tension z ones. P uttumala had retriev ed 0 .0 0 6 7 million
tonnes of an av erag e g rade of 1 4 .9 9 g /t. I n v iew of this a cong lomeration
of a number of small prospects could be a v iable prospecting and
ex ploration strateg y for the A ttappady g old deposits.

IRO N O RE

Fiv e iron ore deposits of banded mag netite q uartz ite ty pe hav e been
identified in Koz hik ode D istrict and one in M alappuram D istrict.
G eolog ical Surv ey of I ndia/D epartment of M ining and G eolog y , N ational

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 Department of Mining and Geology , Gov t. of K erala

M ineral D ev elopment C orporation ( N M D C ) and

U nited N ations assisted Kerala M ineral
E x ploration & D ev elopment P roj ect hav e ex plored
the deposits of iron ores in these areas.

T hese deposits are estimated to contain 8 4 million

tonnes of reserv e ( g eolog ical reserv es) with iron content v ary ing from 3 2
to 4 1 % . T he reserv es and the percent of Fe content are as follows:

Locality Oxidised % of Fe Unoxidised % of Fe Total

(million tonne) (million tonne) (million tonne)
Eleyettimala 14.7 39.4 4.5 31.5 19.2
Naduvallur 6.1 39.8 3.7 33.7 9.8
Nanminda 4.3 41.2 - - 4.3
Cheruppa 3.2 35.5 7.5 31.7 10.7
Alampara 9.0 35.6 26.2 35.2 35.2
Korattimala 1.9 37.7 2.5 33.6 4.4

BAUX ITE

B aux ite occurs in close association with laterite all along the west coast
of the State. T races of baux ite are seen in almost all laterite capping s.
B ut baux ite deposits of economic sig nificance in south Kerala are a few
and are located at Sooranad, V adak k umuri, C hittav attom, and
A dichanallur in Kollam district and M ang alapuram, C hilambil,
Sasthav attom and A ttipra areas of T hiruv ananthapuram district.
G eolog ical Surv ey of I ndia ( G SI ) and M ineral E x ploration C orporation
L td. ( M E C L ) hav e conducted ex tensiv e studies of baux ite occurrence of
Kasarg od and Kannur districts in N orth Kerala during the period
between 1 9 6 8 -' 7 4 including g eolog ical mapping , pitting , drilling and
sampling .

B ased on v arious inv estig ations, the total baux ite reserv es in the State
are estimated at 1 2 .5 million tonnes. T he larg est baux ite deposits are in
N ileswaram with a reserv e of
5 .3 2 million tonnes of g rade around 4 5 % A I 2 O 3 and SiO 2 less than 5 % .

C HINA C LAY

C hina clay ( k aolin) consisting dominantly of k aolinite is one of the most

sophisticated industrial minerals with a host of applications, v iz ., in
ceramics, refractories, paper coating , filler for rubber, insecticides,
cement, paint, tex tiles, fertiliz ers and others including abrasiv es,
asbestos products, fibreg lass, chemicals, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals,
electrical ware, foundry and g lass.

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 Department of Mining and Geology , Gov t. of K erala

T he D epartment of M ining and G eolog y throug h their past inv estig ation
campaig ns in parts of Kerala, identified two maj or china clay z ones v iz .,
the southern china clay z one between
T hiruv ananthapuram and Kundara
( T hiruv ananthapuram and Kollam districts)
and the northern china clay z one between
Kannapuram M aday i -C heruthaz ham in
Kannur district to N ileswarm -
M anj eshwaram in Kasarg od district. A n
estimated reserv e of 1 7 2 million tonnes
( probable reserv e of 8 0 million tonnes and
possible reserv e of 9 2 million tonnes) of china clay of sedimentary and
residual orig in has been arriv ed at.

Kerala china clay is one of the finest q uality clay and is world class. I n
fact, Kaolin mark eted by E ng lish I ndian C lay s L td. ( E I C L ) ,
T hiruv ananthapuram claims to hav e similar or ev en better properties
compared to imported clay s.

P r o d u c t io n

T he paper coating g rade china clay is produced by E ng lish I ndian C lay s

L td., T hiruv ananthapuram and Kerala C eramics L td., Kundara. C eramic
g rade hig h q uality china clay is produced by Kerala C lay s and C eramic
P roducts L td. ( KC C P ) from their mines at Kannapuram and
P az hay ang adi, Kannur D istrict and P uduk ai, Kasarg od D istrict.

A mong the 2 5 work ing china clay mines in Kerala, 1 7 are in

T hiruv ananthapuram, 4 in Kollam, and 2 each in Kannur and in
Kasarg od districts, and these j ointly produced 4 , 4 7 , 0 0 0 tonnes in 2 0 0 0 -
' 0 1 fiscal. Kerala has a prominent place in the refined clay map of the
country , contributing about 5 8 % of the national annual out put.
B eing the larg est producer of hig h g rade processed china clay , the
enormous ex port potential and relativ ely g ood infrastructure lik e ports,
road and rail link s, Kerala is y et to mak e a mark in the ex port of china
clay . I n spite of a four fold j ump in the production of R .O .M . or raw clay
in the past two decades, the corresponding rise in the output of
processed clay was only three fold.

P o t en t i a l f o r C h i n a C l a y In d u s t r i es

T he v ery larg e reserv es of china clay , identified and prov ed by the

D epartment, calls for new mining v entures and clay based industries.
T he D ata R epository of the D epartment and Kerala C lay D ata B ook of
R eg ional R esearch L aboratory , T hiruv ananthapuram hav e adeq uate data
and information on china clay in Kerala. J ointly these database prov ide

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 Department of Mining and Geology , Gov t. of K erala

most useful baseline data, lik e color, plasticity , tensile streng th and
particle siz e, to div erse users and industries.

BALL C LAY

B all clay ( inferred reserv e of 5 .6 7 million tonnes) is found to occur in

certain areas in Kollam, A lappuz ha, E rnak ulam, T hrissur and Kannur
districts. T houg h it does not conform to specification of ball clay s, y et it
is considered to be a g ood substitute. A t present, there is no commercial
production.

F IRE C LAY

T he fire clay occurrences are in association with T ertiary sediments in

the coastal land and the inferred reserv e stands at 1 1 .5 0 million tonnes.
H owev er, this resource is waiting to be ex ploited.

TILE AND BRIC K C LAY S

T he tile and brick clay s are usually of low g rade and red burning . T he
main req uisites are that they should mould easily and burn hard at low
temperature. T here are about 4 0 0 tile factories and about 5 0 0 0 brick
k ilns spread ov er the entire state to manufacture tile and brick s. T he
v ast resources of alluv ial clay s in the paddy land and v alley fill areas are
used by this industry in the State. C lay s av ailable for the manufacture of
tiles are mostly found in the districts of T hrissur, Koz hik ode, E rnak ulam,
Kollam, T hiruv ananthapuram, Kannur and P alak k ad D istricts.

T here are two main ty pes of tile and brick clay s in

the State, lacustrine and floodplain. T he former
are confined to Kannur district. C lay s are
g enerally fine plastic to dull white to v arieg ated
colours and occur in the depressions in the
laterite near P attuv am, A lak ode, T haliparamambu
etc. T he flood plain deposits, which occur in the neig hbourhood of riv ers
are found in a number of districts.

T ile manufacturing units are concentrated in certain areas in the State

mainly Ferok e area of Koz hik ode district, A mballur, O llur of T hrissur
district, A luv a of E rnak ulam district, C hathannur of Kollam district and
A marav ila of T hiruv ananthapuram district.

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 Department of Mining and Geology , Gov t. of K erala

G RAP HITE

G raphite occurs in nature in the form of v ein, dissemination ( flak y ) and

amorphous v ariety . T he first two ty pes of occurrences are found in
Kerala. T he v ein - ty pe g raphite mined earlier around V eli, V ellanad and
C hang a is confined only to the T hiruv ananthapuram district. T he flak e
ty pe of g raphite is ex tensiv e in occurrence in T hiruv ananthapuram,
Kollam, Kottay am, I duk k i and E rnak ulam districts which hav e been
studied by G eolog ical Surv ey of I ndia and are q uite ak in to the celebrated
flak y g raphite mined in the M alag asy R epublic. T he g raphite occurs as
thin flak es distributed more or less ev enly in the rock constituting on an
av erag e about 5 % -1 0 % of the bulk of the rock , althoug h rich pock ets are
not uncommon. T he studies in v arious laboratories in the country and
abroad in respect of the bulk samples collected from the flak y g raphite
deposits of V adak ode, N ag apuz ha ( M uv attupuz ha taluk , E rnak ulam
district) and C hirak k adav u ( Kanj irappally taluk , Kottay am district) point
to g ood beneficiation characteristics, a hig h recov ery of fix ed carbon
( about 8 5 % ) and preserv ation of suitable flak e siz e facilitating their use
in k ey v alue added industrial application lik e crucible manufacture etc.
T he reserv e position in respect of the flak y g raphite deposits of
E rnak ulam and Kottay am districts are g iv en below:

Nagapuzha Vadakode Chirakkadavu Total

Ore reserve (tonnes) 1059352 5050938 700000 6810920
Grade (%c carbon) 7.3 5.0 3.0
Recoverable graphite 43000 24000 16000 83800
(tonnes)
Concentrate grade (% 89 91 88
carbon)
Recovery 79 80 80

SILIC A SAND

T he coastal tract between A lappuz ha and A roor in A lappuz ha D istrict

contain ex tensiv e deposits of silica sand. T he best deposits are confined
to the narrow strip of land sandwiched on either side by V embanad lak e
and stretching from C herthala to A rook utti ov er a distance of about 3 5
k m. B esides there are also smaller deposits in other districts of Kerala.

T he sand deposit comprises of flat to g ently dipping sandy stretches,

g enerally about 5 m abov e M ean Sea L ev el.

Vertical sequence
0-0.75 m below ground level White sand mixed with soil
0.75-2.50 m below ground level White sand
2.50-10.00 m below ground level Brown sand

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 Department of Mining and Geology , Gov t. of K erala

Res er v es o f Dep o s i t

B ased on the recent appraisal carried out by the D epartment of M ining

and G eolog y ov er the open area lik ely to be av ailable for mining , the
inferred reserv e of silica sand in the v illag es are estimated as below:

Village Approximate area in Reserve in million

hectares tones
Pallipuram 300 18.40
Thycauttuserry 120 6.50
Panavally 50 3.50
Total 470 28.40

Q u a l i t y o f Sa n d

I nv estig ation carried out at R eg ional R esearch L aboratory (R R L ),

T hiruv ananthapuram hav e rev ealed that the silica sand of P allippuram is
superior compared to the sands of certain other countries ( M dina and
B araboo of U SA and G ermany ) as raw material for silica refractory .
C hemical analy sis indicates that the sand are of hig h q uality suitable for
g lass manufacturing . T he brown sands occurring below the white sand in
V aranad area hav e also shown that they are superior in q uality to the
white sand in the same area and are suitable for manufacture of g lass.
V aranad sand could be used for mak ing hig h g rade colourless g lass such
as cry stal g lass, table ware etc. T he scope for beneficiation of the sand
established its usefulness in optical and ophthalmic g lass industry . T he
products suit to the specification of sheet rolled and polished g lass
manufacture as per U S B ureau of Standards.

LIG NITE

L ig nite, the only fuel mineral discov ered recently in the State assumes
special sig nificance. Since no coal deposits hav e been identified and the
landed cost of coal remains hig h, the possibility of substitution of coal
and fire wood by lig nite in the user industries would be worth pursuing .
A s per the recommendations of the task force on lig nite constituted for
Kerala, the erstwhile Kerala M ineral E x ploration & D ev elopment P roj ect
had carried out detailed inv estig ation for lig nite in M adai area, Kannur
district.

D etailed ex ploration including
occurs in multiple seams hav ing
m. C alorific v alues rang es from 1
2 8 3 0 K cal/k g . A reserv e of 5 .4 0
of 1 .1 9 k m2. Small as well as
drilling tak en up rev ealed that lig nite
an av erag e cumulativ e thick ness of 4 .6 5
5 8 3 to 4 5 5 6 K cal/k g and the av erag e is
M T hav e been estimated from this area
pilot scale tests on the lig nite samples

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 Department of Mining and Geology , Gov t. of K erala

established fluidised bed combustion and a hig h combustion efficiency

( more than 9 6 % ) of lig nite.

D etailed ex ploration carried out by the

department in N ileswaramA nk ak alari-
P alay i-C hathamath area in Kasarg od
district has identified lig nite seams at a
depth of 1 8 m. T he av erag e cumulativ e
thick ness is about 4 m, and the av erag e
calorific v alue is about 2 2 5 0 K G al/k g . T he reserv es estimated tentativ ely
are of the order of 2 5 0 million tonnes. T he ex ploration also indicated 2
million tonnes of C hina clay and 3 million tonnes of plastic clay in the
area.

D rilling at Kadank ottumala, near C heruv athur has indicated that lig nite
seams of av erag e cumulativ e thick ness of 2 .8 5 m occur in the
sedimentaries in the depth rang e from 1 6 .7 0 m and 3 3 .4 0 m. A reserv e of
1 million tonnes of lig nite has been estimated tentativ ely . I n Kay y ur--
Klay icode area east of N ileswaram a reserv e of 0 .5 5 million tonnes of
lig nite with clay has also been estimated.

LIMESTO NE

C r y s t a l l i n e Li m es t o n e

Kerala State is deficient in cry stalline limestone and only a few bands of
cry stalline limestone in P alak k ad and I duk k i districts hav e been located
in addition to the limestone deposit prov ed at P andarathu, W alay ar,
P alak k ad district. T he P andarathu limestone deposit ( 2 4 million tonnes)
is now the captiv e mine producing limestone for M /s. M alabar C ements
L td., the P ortland cement plant in Kerala.

A number of small bands hav e also been identified in other localities in

N attuv ank i, A thurasram, V annamadai, T hav alam in P alak k ad district
and in a few localities in I duk k i district.

K a n k a r Li m es t o n e

L imestone of Kank ar v ariety has been reported from C hittoor-

Koz hinj ampara area in P alak k ad district. T he economic sig nificance of
low-g rade limestone has not been indicated by the studies conducted so
far. T he 1 6 k m2 area between T hav alam and near A naik etty shows that
k ank ar caps the amphibolite ov er 0 .3 k m2.

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 Department of Mining and Geology , Gov t. of K erala

F o s s i l i f er o u s Li m es t o n e

Fossiliferous L imestone is k nown to occur in v arious parts of Kollam

district such as Kallurk adav u, M ug hathala, Kannanallur, Kottiy am,
M ay y anad, N edumg andam and E dav a in T hiruv ananthapuram district.
T he occurrence of shell limestone is in the form of discontinuous lenses
intercalated with black carbonaceous clay in the T ertiary formations.

LIME SHELL

T he State is deficient in hig h-g rade limestone. C onseq uently the

req uirement of lime for chemical industry is depended on the limeshell
resources occurring in the back waters/estuaries, riv er mouths and
lag oons along the coastal tract.

B y far the larg est reserv es of lime shell are k nown to occur in V embanad
lak e and adj oining portions comprising parts of A lappuz ha, E rnak ulam
and Kottay am D istricts. T he D epartment of M ining and G eolog y by its
detailed inv estig ation in certain parts of V embanad lak e and adj oining
areas hav e established a reserv e of 3 .2 9 million tonnes as shown below:

Locality Reserve in million tones

Vembanad Lake 2.50
Kualsekharamanagalam 0.18
Pallipuram 0.10
Vechoorpadam 0.26
Thannirmukkom 0.25

T he lime shell resources nex t in importance to V embanad lak e are those

in Kannur and Kasarg od districts in N orth Kerala.

T he department had also inv estig ated on the occurrence of limeshell in

T hrissur, M alappuram and Kannur districts and the reserv es indicated
are as follows:

Area Reserve in million tones

Thrissur District: Naduvullikara, Vadanapalli, 0.33
Chettuva, and Kappad
Kannur District: Payyannur, Cheruvathur, and 0.29
Thrikkarippur
Malapuram District: Kanhiramukku, 0.14
Iswaramangalam, and Edappal

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 Department of Mining and Geology , Gov t. of K erala

MAG NESITE

A total possible reserv e of 0 .0 3 7 million tonnes has been estimated in

M ulli-Salay ur areas, A ttappadi in P alak k ad D istrict by the D epartment of
M ining and G eolog y . I n Salay ur area, mag nesite v eins v ary ing in
thick ness from 1 0 to 3 0 m were observ ed in pits. T he av erag e recov ery of
mag nesite was assessed as 1 0 0 k g /m3 of mag nesite - bearing rock s and
samples on analy sis were found to contain 4 3 .0 5 to 4 6 .7 3 % M g O , 1 .5 1 to
6 .5 9 % of Si0 2 and 0 .2 9 to 0 .5 9 % of C aO .

STEATITE / TALC

I t is consumed in many manufacturing industries of paper, insecticide,

tex tile, fertiliz ers, ceramics, rubber products, cement, asbestos etc.

Sev eral steatite occurences hav e been identified in T halassery T aluk of

Kannur district. T he total reserv es estimated are of the order of 7 .9 4
million tonnes.

G RANITE ( DIMENSIO N STO NE)

A n important aspect of recent trend in

architecture and construction is the increasing
use of a host of cry stalline rock s as dimension
stones after being cut and polished for
enhancing aesthetics and decor of building s
and monuments. I n this reg ard a number of
rock ty pes broadly g rouped as " G ranite" that
ex ist in v arious parts of Kerala are utilised for
this purpose.

T he maj or g ranite belt of Kerala can be classified by its g eolog ic setting

into three categ ories:
- C harnock ite-Khondalite belt of T hiruv ananthapuram, Kollam,
P athanamthitta and Kottay am districts ( colour rang es from pale
g reen with mottled red, bluish g reen with cordierite, deep dark
g reen, g rey ish white) .

- T rue intrusiv e or anatectic g ranites and associated mig matites of

P roteroz oic ag e from I duk k i, P alak k ad, Kannur, Kasarg od and
W ay anad districts ( colour: P ink , lig ht pink , G ray , y ellowish white
and bluish pink with wav y .patterns) .

- D olerite-G abbro dy k es, P roteroz oic intrusiv e hy pabasal dy k e

swarms from Kottay am, P alak k ad, M alappuram and Koz hik ode

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 Department of Mining and Geology , Gov t. of K erala

districts ( colour: dark g reenish blue, black and dark g ray with
black spots) .

I n Kerala, the importance of ex ploration of g ranites has been recog nised

rather late althoug h inv estig ations hav e been initiated rig ht from 1 9 7 6 .
T here has been a spurt in q uarry ing leases
for g ranite dimension stone in the early
nineties that resulted in creatiol" 1 of
international mark et for g reen and white
coloured g ranites of Kerala. T houg h Kerala
has larg e resources of dimension stone
g ranite in most of the districts amenable for
being c u t and polished, there are only 1 9
q uarries producing 3 5 8 9 cbm annually ( 2 0 0 1 -' 0 2 ) which is low compared
to the production of other southern States of T amilnadu, Karnatak a and
A ndhra P radesh.

G EMSTO NES

T he ex ploration carried out for g emstone occurrences in

T hiruv ananthapuram and Kollam D istricts between 1 9 7 8 and 1 9 8 0 by
the erstwhile Kerala M ineral E x ploration &
D ev elopment P roj ect has ascertained a wide rang e
of g emstones comprising C hry sobery l, C at' s ey e,
A lex andrite, R uby , Sapphire, B ery l, A q uamarine,
T opaz , Kornerupine, Z ircon, Sphene, Spinel,
G arnet etc. T he peg matite ex posures and most of
the g rav el beds in T hiruv ananthapuram district
and southern part of Kollam district were sampled and analy sed to
ascertain the presence of g em. A lthoug h the source of C hry sobery l g em
in the riv er g rav el was identified to be the peg matites, no corundum
bearing rock s were identified in T hiruv ananthapuram district. T he
av ailable information on the occurrence of g emstones in southern Kerala
points to the predominance of chry sobery l ov er other species of
g emstones.

T here are three different g eolog ical setting in which g emstones occurs in
Kerala v iz .

- the peg matites trav ersing the cry stalline rock s

- in association with g rav els in the riv er channels of the present day
- in the older g rav els which are often consolidated and lateritised
-
T hese setting s hav e fairly ex tensiv e g eog raphical distribution in
T hiruv ananthapuram district, the localities of importance are
A ndoork onam, A ruv ik k ara, B alaramapuram, B onaccord E state,

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 Department of Mining and Geology , Gov t. of K erala

B raemore E state, C hang a, C hullimanur, M adathara, M anick k al,

P irappancode, V enj aramoodu, V eng anoor, V embay am, T honnak k al,
U z hamalak k al, M anv ila, M udak k al, N edumang ad, V ellanad, N ettani,
O oroottambalam, P othencode and in Kollam, the
main g em bearing localities are A duk k alamula,
P odiattuv ila, Kulathupuz ha, and T alachira.
B esides these localities sev eral stretches of riv ers
lik e Kallar- V amanapuram A r, Karamana A r,
N ey y ar in T hiruv anathapuram D istrict and
Kulathupuz ha, Kallada riv ers in Kollam district
are also subj ected to sporadic mining activ ities,
thoug h there is no leg aliz ed g em mining in the State.

P RO DUC TIO N O F MAJ O R MINERALS IN THE STATE

T he production of maj or mineral in the state for the y ear 2 0 0 5 -2 0 0 6 is

shown in the g raph g iv en below:

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