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CHAPTER VIII MINING 8.1 Introduction

Mining of minerals and extraction of metals were in practice in ancient Orissa. Modern mining as per available records started in 1909, when coal was first excavated in the Rampur area of Ib valley. The TISCO mines for iron ore at Gorumohisani and manganese mine in Goriajhar (Gangpur State) started in 1910 followed by dolomite and limestone mining in 1914 at Panposh and Bisra respectively. Mining of chromite in Baula area started much later, in 1942. After independence, rapid growth of mining activities in the state was witnessed upto early 80s. Iron and manganese ore mining spread over extensive areas in Keonjhar and Sundergarh districts to meet the demands of new industries and for export. Chromite mining at Baula and Sukinda increased with establishment of ferroalloy industries and scope for export. Bauxite mining in large scale started at Panchpatmali hills in Koraput district in 1984. Besides growth of limestone and dolomite mining in Sundergarh district, new limestone mines came up at Dungri in Baragarh and Sunki in Koraput district with new cement plants. Beach sand mining at Gopalpur, lead ore mining in Sundargarh and mining of tin ore in Koraput started in 1980s, while the lead and tin mining has stopped latter on. Other minerals mined in the state are graphite, china clay, fire clay, quartz etc. Besides mining of gemstones, small mines for minor minerals like morrum, decorative and dimensional stones and stone quarries with crushers came up at many places in the state in a very unorganized manner. During the period of 1985-2000, when mineral development in the state has been very slow, bauxite production by NALCO in Koraput and coal mining by MCL in Ib valley and Talcher area have increased. Though many attribute poor growth of mining sector to stringent forest and environment acts. But even without development of new mines, sudden increase in production of iron ore, chromite, coal and bauxite, have been seen recently. Increase in mineral production and development of new mines have been mostly dependent on market demand and industrial growth in India. Up to late 50s, when the mines were small and mostly manual, environmental impact was not very significant and localized. Subsequently large scale mechanized mines came up with the establishment of large industries. These mines and the beneficiation plants/washeries, waste dumps and effluents discharged increased pollution in and around the mines. The mines mostly being located in forest areas were considered to be
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responsible for increased deforestations. As a result, mines and mining activities were considered to have serious environmental impact. With the growing awareness on environment, new regulations were made and various stringent measures were enforced in eighties. Mines in the state started taking pollution control measures for their survival. Steps were taken for protection of environmental degradations in the mining areas. In spite of this, often there are public oppositions against development of new mines and mineral industries. In order to achieve sustainable development, there are still many areas in the mining sector, which are to be taken care off. 8.2 Mineral Resources of Orissa

Nature has gifted Orissa with vast and extensive mineral resources. While mining activities have depleted resources of many deposits, new findings have also added to it. Reserves of ores and minerals in the state as on 1.1.2000 are placed below as reported by Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) (Table 8.1) TABLE: 8.1 IBM Data on Reserves of Ores & Minerals in Orissa
Sl. 1. Mineral Bauxite Location / District Koraput, Rayagada, Kalahandi and Bolangir and small deposits in Phulbani, Nuapada & Sundargarh Ganjam and Puri Mayurbhanj & small deposits in Malkangiri Keonjhar & Jajpur Sambalpur, Jharsuguda & Angul - Talcher Sundargarh & Koraput Cuttack, Sambalpur & Jharsuguda Baragarh, Sambalpur, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Phulbani & Raygada Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur Sundargarh, Bargarh, Koraput & Malkangiri Sundargarh, Keonjhar & Rayagada Jajpur & Keonjhar Resources (million tonnes) 1,733 (3,075)

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Beach Sand China Clay Chromite Coal Dolomite Fireclay Graphite Iron Ore Limestone Manganese Nickel

82*(366) 314(2353) 183*(186*) 60,987(245,692)** 882(7349) 177(706) 4.6(16) 4,177(12,317) 2,224(1,69,941) 116(406) 174(188)

(The figures in brackets are the reserves of India) * As per latest figures of Directorate of Geology, Orissa. ** As per latest figures of Ministry of Coal.

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The other minerals that occur in the state include pyrophyllite, serpentinite, gemstones, dimension stones, quartz and quartzite. Orissas resources of bauxite, chromite, coal, iron, manganese and nickel ores are formidable constituting approximately 50%, 98%, 25%, 35%, 27% and 91% of total resources of the country. There are reported occurrences of vanadiferrous magnetite (Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar), tin ores (Koraput), diamond in western Orissa, gold (Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj), platinum group of elements (Jajpur & Keonjhar) and lead & zinc ores (Western Orissa). These deposits may prove to be economically potential in future. Adequacy of available resources of suitable commercial grades of bauxite, beach sand, chromite, coal, dolomite, iron ore, limestone and manganese ores would lead to increased exploitations and development of large size mines, to meet the demand of proposed industries. Simultaneously, latest process/technologies in practice and under development in various countries would influence the Indian scenario to use marginal and low-grade resources available in plenty. Besides new process/technology, large-scale mining operations would make these low grades and presently rejected mineral resources economically viable. Addition of these low grade resources and new discoveries by application of advanced technologies of exploration, the reserves of existing minerals and new findings as well are likely to increase the resource potential of the state. 8.3 (i) Status of Active Mining Areas Active mining areas

As on 1.4.2004 about 1103 sq. km area of the state is under mining leases, which account of 0.7% of the total geographical area of the state. Out of this, 400 are operating mines with 827.8 sq. km lease area. Within this, surface rights for mining is over 501 sq. km. Further, the active mining operation area is nearly 10% of this i.e. around 50 Sq. Kms. As such, Mining activity today is actually confined to about 0.03% area of the state. Total forest area of the state is 58,135 sq. Kms i.e. 37.3% of the geographical area of the state. Out of this 48838 sq. km is presently under forest cover i.e. 31.4%, which includes 20,866 sq. km open forest. While some mining activities are confined to non-forest areas, substantial portion of the remaining mining zones come under degraded and open forest areas. Because of afforestation taken up by the mines and their concern as organized sector for forest conservation, in and around of these mining areas forest cover exists today. It has been confirmed even by satellite imagery of mining belts of Koraput, Keonjhar Sundergarh & Angul. Deforestation and degraded forest areas are much more in the districts or parts of the state, where there are no mining activities. While about 10% of the forest area has been lost in the last 50 years, only 0.09% forest area comes under mining lease and 0.01 % under active mining operation.
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If the active mining zones of major mining districts like Keonjhar, Sundergarh, Angul & Jharsuguda where the forest cover is 40.68%, 42.17%, 41.57% & 13.26% respectively are taken into consideration, about 2.26 % of forest area of these districts come under mining activities. There has been need for super imposing mining areas and mineral zones over forest map of these districts to assess the exact impact of mining activities in forest areas. In the major mining districts like Keonjhar, Sundergarh, this study is being taken up. This should help in proper development of mining activities, simultaneously taking care for forest and environment. Fortunately in the districts like Boudh, Deogarh, Gajapati, Kandhamala, Nayagarh & Sambalpur having forest cover of 41.32%, 46.19%, 59.01%, 67.20%, 43.83% and 49.14 % respectively, mining activities are negligible. The areas of unorganized mining activity of murrom, laterites, stone quarries and other small mines dispersed throughout the state, which would be substantial when taken together, have not been taken into consideration. (ii) Mineral production

Present day mining activities can be assessed from the mineral production for the years 2000-01 and 2003-04 as placed in Table 8.2. TABLE: 8.2 Mineral Production
Minerals Bauxite Beach sand China clay Chromite Coal Dolomite Fire Clay Graphite Iron Ore Limestone Manganese ore Pyrophyllite Soapstone Quartz & Quartzite No. of active operating mines 2(+3) 1 7(+1) 18* 26 2 11 57 49(42) 25 19 3(+4) 4 ** 56 (Figures in million tonnes) 2000-01 2003-04 2.9 4.94 0.196 0.230 0.003 0.0061 1.95 2.88 45.0 60.20 10.0 1.27 0.036 0.050 0.079 0.034 14.40 34.89 2.10 2.24 0.546 0.698 0.031 0.084 0.125

(+3) - bauxite with iron & manganese ore, (+1) - China clay with fire clay, (+42) - iron ore with manganese ore, (+4)-pyrophyllite with quartzite * Pyroxynite - 0.20 million tonnes mined with chromite, ** Soapstone - few thousands tonnes mined only.

It may be seen that during last 2 years, bauxite, chromite, coal and iron ore have recorded remarkable step-up in production. Mineral revenue earned by
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the state during this period has increased from 360.31 crores to 550.72 crores rupees, while only coal accounts for 70% of this revenue collection. (iii) Growth potential

The production figures in million tonnes of 8 major minerals mined in the state for the years 1987-88, 1996-97 and 2003-04 are placed below indicating the growth trend of mining activities in the state. TABLE: 8.3 Mining growth trends in Orissa Sl. No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Minerals Bauxite Beach sand Chromite Coal Dolomite Iron Ore Limestone Manganese 1987-88 0.4 0.06 0.6 8.6 0.98 8.7 2.8 0.5 1996-97 2.6 0.1 1.36 37.5 1.17 11.3 1.9 0.7 2003-04 4.9 0.23 3.3 60.0 1.27 32.0 2.24 0.7 Growth trend High Low High High Low High Low Low

With available resources and the market demand arising from growth in aluminum, steel and ferroalloys, cement and power sectors, mining activities of bauxite, iron ore, chromite & coal would positively increase at a faster rate in coming 10 to 15 years, while that of limestone, dolomite, manganese ore & beach sand would increase at a comparatively slower rate. (iv) Mining activity zones

The state possesses varieties of minerals dispersed throughout. Depending upon reserves and grades available, shape and size of the exploitable mineral/ore bodies, mining activities are mostly under progress in small or large opencast mines, except a few old underground mines for coal. These are mostly worked manually or semi-mechanized/mechanized methods. Similarly there are steps taken for beneficiation/washing/up-gradation of mined out materials depending upon available grades and market demand. Similar considerations would also guide future developments of mining activities in the state. Concentration of mines, tonnage produced, quantity of excavated material and their handling etc. in a mineral-bearing zone are proportionately responsible for environmental impact in the region. This impact would
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increase further with additional mining activities in case available resource potential is high in the zone. Taking into account the above facts, 16 mining zones have been indicated in the map of Orissa (Fig-8.1). The minerals mined, present status and future potential of each zone are briefly indicated in the Table 8.4. While zone-1 indicates highest mining activity, the least is zone 16. TABLE: 8.4 Zone-wise Present Status and Future Potential of Mining Areas
(i) Zone Zone-1 Keonjhar, Sundergarh Iron & Manganese ore area. State & Impact a. All the mines operating under consent of Orissa State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) are complying to the stipulated conditions, while the performance of major mines particularly Joda-East of TISCO and Barasua & Bolani of SAIL have been appreciable. b. Air pollution is a major issue in all most all mines, though the observations at monitoring points are within the norms. Localized dust levels are very high at crusher, loading and transfer points. SPM level goes up to 1000 mg/m3, often it is just around 600 mg/m3. RPM is also high, but silica content is expected to be low. c. Rivers & rivulets carry heavy suspended particles of iron oxide and look red in rainy season. TSS often goes up to 1000 mg/lit. d. Though afforestations & reclamation have been attempted by many individual mines, land degradation and deforestation vis--vis reclamation and afforestations are not being planned & executed in a regional scale essential for the effective land use planning of the area for sustainable development. e. Local tribal people continue to be poor and there is not much of improvement in their standard of living. Education and medical facilities need improvements. f. Infrastructure like road, water & power supply is in very bad condition & deserve attention. g. Mining activities over the years & recent crushers and sponge iron plants are positively having environmental & socio-economic impacts. Regional impact surveys need to be carried out in 4 sub-areas. i) Joda-Barbil area- (North) East of ii) Khandbandh-Matangtoli(South) Koli River iii) Barsua-Kalta area (North)
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iv)

KhandadharMankarnacha (South

West of Koli river

(ii)

Zone-2 Angul Talcher coalfield area.

This area is already considered as Hot spot from pollution point of view. Besides air pollution, the river Brahmani passing through the area also gets polluted. Though coal mines are not having any effluents discharged, the washout of mining areas and drain water from workshops & townships ultimately goes to the river. The coal washeries coming up in the locality may add in future. Air pollution of localized nature in mining areas, crushers, conveyers, handling, stockpiles and loading areas are having appreciable dust level in the air. Besides, coal dust, silica level is also high. Combustion of coal in summer adds heat to environment besides air pollutions from burning of coal. SPM level in many places are more than 450 micro gm/m3 which goes up to 580. At places it goes even higher beyond the standard. RPM is often seen to be around 200 micro gm/m3. Suspended solid are less than 100 mg/lit while COD and BOD is often observed to be high. Lowering of water table is often being reported during summer seasons. Local people have often expressed opposition to development of new mines for loss of valuable land possessed by them. There are reports of air pollution & lowering of water table due to mining. Development of new mines and industries like thermal power plants, Coal washeries etc. in this already polluted area deserves carrying capacity study. The coalfield of Ib valley area of Brajarajnagar and Belpahar is considered to be highly polluting because of both air and water pollutions, though the mines of this region meet the stipulated conditions. Because of less number of mines, the pollution level is not very serious except localized impacts. Combustion of coal also adds to air pollution besides heat. This being a hot area, in summer season, general complaint of increasing temperature in the locality is linked to coal mining activity. Lowering of water table is also a concern, besides rehabilitation of displaced persons for development of new mines. Carrying capacity study of this area is also essential. The mines are well organized with respect to treatment of hexavalent chromium in the surface
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(iii)

Zone-3 Sambalpur, Jharsuguda coalfield area.

(iv)

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Jajpur,Dhenkanal & Keonjhar Chromite area. (v) Zone-5 Koraput Rayagada Kalahandi Bauxite area.

water drainage. Air pollution is of localized nature and not very serious. The other impacts from socio-economic considerations are also identical to d.e.f. of zone-1. Only large-scale mine operating in Panchapatmali hill, has excellent environmental management system. Air pollution is much below the standard and there is zero discharge. In reclamation of mined out area, its rehabilitation and afforestation this mine has achieved significant success and has received various awards of state and even Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar. The bauxite areas devoid of any vegetation after mining, the areas can be developed into well grown forests. Minimum 3 bauxite mines are likely to come up in the zone in coming 10-15 years. These proposed mines are bound to have same or better environment management system than Panchapatmalu bauxite mines. Hence environmental impact of bauxite mines may not pose any serious problem. Limestone mines of Umpavalli being small and localized is not of serious consideration. However, this zone being a tribal belt opposition against development of mines & industry is mostly linked with their economic and social issues. The points dealt in d.e.f in zone 1 are also applicable to this zone. Biramitrapur limestone and dolomite area being the oldest mining area of the state with recent stress on environment care and plantation activities, the mines have significant success in environment management. Much increase in impact is not expected in future. Small mines of chromite and soapstone mostly in organized sector have taken adequate environmental protection measures. These mines are fulfilling their social and environment responsibility. The hexavalent chromite problem is not a serious issue in this area. Pollution of river Salandi have been under control and not much problem expected in future. This zone has very small iron ore mines with no reported pollution or environment issue so far. This area is likely to be a major mining belt for the newly proposed industries and hence adequate pollution control measures need to be
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(vi)

Zone-6 Biramitrapur Limestone & Dolomite belt

(vii)

Zone-7 Baula-Nuasahi chromite belt of Keonjhar and adjacent Balasore district.

(viii)

Zone-8 Gandhamardhan & adjacent areas of iron ore in Keonjhar

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district. (ix) Zone-9 Mayurbhanj district, Iron ore & China clay area.

enforced. However the points d.e.f of zone 1 is to be considered. Though this is one of the oldest mining area in this state, present day activities are of limited scale in small open cast mines of iron ore & china clay dispersed distance apart. Meeting the stipulated standards these mines do not pose much of problem in future. Future development potential is very less. The OSCOM mine of Indian Rare Earths Limited is the only large-scale mine. It has been working with pollution free environment and has been meeting desired norms of Pollution Control Board. Large scale working in future and mostly mining in Gopalpur area is not considered to have serious impact in future. The dimensional stone quarries being very small mines away from habitational areas have very little impact.

(x)

Zone-10 Beach sand mining area of Ganjam district and adjacent Puri district.

8.4

Environmental Impact Status

The zones from 1 to 16 in Table 8.4 are in decreasing order considering environmental impacts today and in future years. In this context, first ten zones (1-10) deserve serious consideration, while remaining six zones may not pose much environmental impact even in next 10 to 15 years. Nearly 50% of the operating mines in the state are yet to come under the consent administration of the State Pollution Control Board. Besides there are many small quarries in unorganized sector and do not come under environmental supervision/monitoring. With the limitations of manpower & infrastructure of OSPCB, this huge task is also not possible to be taken up. IBM through its regional office at Bhubaneswar also looks into the environment management of mines. Similarly certain aspects of environment are being inspected by officers of Directorate General Mine Safety (DGMS) and Directorate of Mines Orissa. Regarding forest i.e. deforestations and afforstations in acquired forest areas for mining is seen by the State Forest Department and Regional office of Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India (MOEF) at Bhubaneswar. Major mines obtaining environment clearance from MOEF are also inspected and monitored by this office. Further, NGOs, local bodies, & district level state government officers have watch over impacts of mining sector in the locality.

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9 1 6 3

7 4 8 2 14 11 12 13 5 16 10 15

Figure

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As per records of OSPCB, all mines out of 154 being monitored by their regional offices comply to sanction conditions of clearance and consent. Serious violation/impact and pollutions have not been reported in recent past. On the other hand certain improvement in environment management by the mines have been achieved due to efforts of OSPCB. The major achievements so far in this process of strict monitoring by OSPCB & IBM are: Chromite mines of Sukinda area (zone-4) conserve nickeliferous laterite, over burden and low-grade ores in a planned way while contaminated water containing hexavalent chromium is treated effectively before discharged to natural watercourse. Nandira river which was highly polluted a decade back is now having clear water of class-C river quality. Large scale mechanized coalmines of MCL in Talcher and Ib valley area (Zones 2 &3) adopt water sprinkling to prevent air pollutions from dust generated during mining, haulage and handling and also combustion of coal in working faces and stockpiles. Impact of ground water table by mining is also being monitored. Large scale mechanized iron ore mines (zone-1) having beneficiation plants have developed tailing dams and adopt zero discharge practice. Dust pollution of all the major iron ore mines of (zone-1), limestone mines (zone-6) & bauxite mine (zone-5) is under control and the mines adopt zero discharge system. Reclamation and rehabilitation along with afforestations have been generally practised with commendable achievements by Joda East (TISCO), Panchpatmali (NALCO), Barsua & Bolani mines (SAIL), Dungri limestone mines (ACC) and most of the coal mines of MCL, Thakurani mines of OMDC etc. Many mines of state have received state and even national awards. Various projects to assess environmental impact of mining have been initiated like regional impact studies, ground water monitoring, socioeconomic impact on tribal community around mining zones, etc. Environmental degradations associated with mining.

8.5

Unlike other industrial sectors, mining activity particularly opencast mines draw special attention from environmental degradation point of view. Besides air and water pollutions, it involves excavations of land, loss of soil, degradation/disfiguring of surface area and deforestation. Valuable topsoil and usable land is lost forever, which cannot be fully recovered. Natural drainage system and ground water table is disturbed which not only affects the inhabitants in close proximity but also people living in faraway places.

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Rehabilitation has been a serious issue in coal mining areas of Talcher, Angul and Jharsuguda. Air pollutions can be easily controlled by reducing dust generation at the time of mining operation through controlled blasting, use of ripper dozer& surface miners etc. Dusts generated can be segregated & handled immediately. Covers can be used in drills and handling areas. Sprinkling at dust generation points, haulage roads, transfer points, and stockpiles will help in dust suppression. Periphery barriers and green belts may protect the surrounding areas from dusts. Similarly water pollution can also be easily controlled by garland drains around the mines to prevent surface runoff water entering mines to get polluted. Drainage control within the mines and then adopting zero discharge system, surplus water can be used for sprinkling and plantation activities. There are many small mines and crushers in the major mining belts causing air pollution. Often they do not come under notice of statutory agencies. There are pockets having SPM level much above the standards. These locations being away from habitational areas, the impact is not perceived to be serious. In the regional scale, it may be alarming in future, if planned growth of mining activities with dust control measures are not envisaged. The impact on ground water table, pollutions in the major water sources or rivers, and regional impact of concentrated mining activities in a locality deserve greater attention. This is more important particularly in zones 1 to 10 where the future growth of mining activity is expected. Land degradation & surface distortions due to mining activity is not taken very seriously. Besides, the active mining area, surrounding areas are also affected due to changes in surface drainage pattern, washouts and new gullies formed, which disturb the land use pattern. Loss of topsoil in the process from extensive areas is a great loss. Even the measures taken for reclamation, rehabilitation and afforestations cannot bring back normalcy for sustaining the local habitat. The new forests do not have branches, fruits & flowers to attract the fauna. Adequate monitoring, research and attention are required in this front, as it may differ from zone to zone. IBM approves the mining plan with scheme for mine closure. There is no mechanism to monitor that these are being strictly followed. Similar is the case of land degradation, land use and land reclamation of mining areas. Besides individual mines, this aspect should be planned and executed in regional scale. Help of satellite imagery can be taken for periodical assessment & planning.
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8.6

Environmental Management in Mines

Irrespective of mineral mined and the size, most of the mines have adopted environment management system. There is awareness amongst both workers and management. As a result the mines are meeting the consent conditions. Many mines, mostly large scale mechanized and medium scale semimechanized mines have gone for ISO 14000 certification of EMS and trying to improve their performance. IBM is organizing Environment Awareness Programme every year and holds regional competition amongst mines where the best performing units are rewarded. In the process and with the influence of NGOs, environment awareness is also growing within the community around the mines. All the mines in organized sector are conscious that their survival depends on sound environmental management and community development programmes. New mines coming up would have to take adequate measures and develop EMS to meet the stringent stipulations of statutes. At the same time statutory authorities have to help in promotion of mining activities for achieving sustainable development. This would also help in developing understanding between the mines and communities. The only concern is the small mines and quarries operating in unorganized sector. The air and water pollution and restoration of degraded land is never taken seriously by these units. State and Central Government have to take these activities into consideration. 8.7 (i) DPSIR Elaboration Driving forces

a) Orissa is considered as a poor state, because percentage in BPL category is high and the state does not have adequate resources to execute development projects for upliftment of people. In this situation available resources are to be utilized. The state is rich in mineral resources. Hence Government desires to utilize mineral resources through mining and establishment of industries to produce value added items. The objective is to generate income for the state, simultaneous development of the area and generation of employment. The state as per industrial policies is attracting investment of multinational and national corporate houses for mining and establishing mineral based industries in steel, power, aluminum and infrastructure sectors. b) Recently there has been sudden increase in demand of iron ore. Even there was demand of low-grade ores & fines due to growth of steel sector and export to China. Such rise in demand drives the local mines to
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increase production and dispatch even beyond the approved quantities. As a result, pollution increases in mining areas by handling of fines. The heavy transport in roads not ready for this additional traffic had very adverse impact in the region. Mine owners, transporters and traders want immediate/short term benefit over looking environment impact and problems faced by others. c) Till date no facilities could be developed for rail movement and road is not suitable for heavy load and higher number of plying of trucks. Lack of Infrastructure matching to mining and industrial activities has adverse impact in the locality. (ii) Pressure

Increase in production and new mines, particularly large-scale mechanized mines, would increase the pollution load. Air pollution would be more. Old mines, dumps, drainage etc. would be disturbed, which may lead to increased water pollution. Movement of heavy vehicular traffic would bring disturbs the local life style. Loss of soil, forest and agriculture would have serious impact for the future generation when the region would have to sustain a larger population. This has been observed over last decade in many mining areas of zone 2, 3, 4 & 5. Local opposition to mining projects indicate such apprehensions by the communities in above zones. iii) State and Impact

State of environment of the mining zones 1 to 10 are considered to be important from environment point of view. A summary of the state and impacts on environment are placed in Table 8.4. Out of these zones 1 to 5 are considered to be really alarming. Regional impact assessment of these mining zones is immediately necessary before planning of future industrial activities. Remaining zones 6 to 10 do not pose any serious problem today, as the mining activities are in low key and are not expected to increase much in coming 10-15 years. In the zones 11 to 16 the mining activities are confined to small pockets and are not concentrated at one place. Hence, impact on environment is very less. However, the general points dealing with socio-economic aspects, infrastructure development etc for these zones need to be examined and improved like the zones 1-10 indicated in the above table confining only to mining areas. Zonewise mines, Specific feature/resources and mines are compiled in Table 8.5.

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TABLE: 8.5 Zone wise Mines and Deposits

Zone Zone-1 Keonjhar Sundergarh Iron & Manganese belt. Specific features, Deposits/Resources Major mining area of the state for iron and manganese ores. Small quantities of bauxite is also produced. a) Iron Ore - Thakurani, Katamati Joda East Bolani,Jajang,Jilling, khandbandh, Joribahal, Sakradihi, Balda-Palsa, Malangtoli, SeremndaBhadrasahi, Mankarnacha and others in Keonjhar district with known reserves of about 2327 million tones of iron ore - BarsuaKalta, Badamgarh pahar, Baliapathar, Khandadhar, BasadaDiringburu-Mithurda, Patraposi Group & others in Sundergarh district with known reserves of about 742 million tones. b) Manganese ore - Dubna, Joda West, SGBK, Silijora-Kalimati, SerendaBhadrasahi, Bhadrasahi, Belkundi, Dalki & Thakurani in Keonjhar district with reserves of about 20 million tonnes Patamunda. Malda, Orahuri, Mahulsuka, Ghoriajor-lainger, Podadih & Sarakanda of Sundergarh district with known reserves of about 12 million tones. c) Bauxite Small pockets of bauxite occurs with reserves around 10 million tones around Kuanar & Tensa. d) Other minerals present are quartzite, Kyanite 221 Major/ important mines Iron ore Thakurani, Balkundi and Bhadrasahi mines of OMDC Joda East, Katamati & Khandbandh mines of TISCO Bolani Barsua and Kalta mines of SAIL Jilling Langlota, Kasia, Barapada Koira & Roida of ESSEL mining BPJ iron ore, Khandabour, khandbandh, Sakradihi, mines of OMC TRB iron ore mines Jindal Jajanga, Orghat, San-Indupur mines of M/s. Rungta & sons. Jorrudi, Deojhar mines of Tarini Minerals. Gonua mines of Maitri Sukla Balda mines of M/s. Sirajuddin Nuagoan Mines of K.S Alluwalia Thakurani mines of SL & ML Sarada Patabeda mines of MG Mohanty Raikela & Jorani mines of G.K Mohanty

a. b. c. d. e.

f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n.

Manganese ore Bamebari, Malda, Manmora Tiringpahar, Joda west & Khandbandh mines of TISCO Dalki, Dubna, Serenda, Bhadresahi & SG BK mines of OMC Dalki mines of OMDC Silijora-Kalamati, Kolmong, KantherKoira, Katasahi, Jajang mines of Rungta bothers Patamunda, Orahari, Mohulsuka Nuagaon, Roida, Goniajhar, Lainjar Kiora Bhanja Kusum and many other small mines.

Bauxite f) Small mines of bauxite at San-Indupur of Rungata, S.N. Mohanty & mines of OCL & others

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Zone 2 Angul- Talcher Coal field area

Zone-3 Sambalpur, Jharsuguda and Baragarh area around Hirakud Reservoir & IB river valley.

Pyrophyllite etc with less reserves and small operating mines. g) Though numbers of mines are less compared to zone-1, volume/quantity handled is higher including waste. h) The local mines are mostly open cast of large sizes and mechanized, except few under ground mines, while all these belong to MCL. Coal reserves of 26579 million tones open prospects of further development of mining activities. i) Besides coal other small workings are of fireclay. j) Small occurrences of quartzite, beryl etc are reported but not being worked. k) This zone is already considered to be highly polluted areas because of coalmines and Thermal Power Plants located in the areas. l) Private sector mines & coal washeries may come in near future. - This zone comes after Talcher area because of less production of coal. Substantial quantity of other minerals produced are Fireclay, Quartzite & Lime stone, Dolomite & Limestone reserves of Baragarh are 50 & 60 million tones respectively. - Private sector captive coalmines with Thermal power plants are proposed with coal reserves of about 21310 million tonnes in the area. This would enhance mining and power generation in the area. It is a critical area from environmental consideration for Hirakud

Kalinga-Open cast Ananta- Open cast Lingaraj- Open cast Bharatpur- Open cast Jagannath- Open cast South Balanda- Open cast Deulbera-Under ground Nandira- Under ground Talcher-Under ground Handidhua-Under ground Hingula- Open cast Chendipada-open cast Kaniha- open cast Natraj- open cast Utkal & Adjacent areas New private mines for captive power plants are being developed.

Coal mines of MCL Belpahad-open cast Lajkura-open cast Lilari-open cast Lakhanpur-open cast Samaleswari- open cast Hirakhand-Bundia- Under ground Himgiri-under ground Orient-i,ii,iii,iv U.G Basundhara-(E) Coal mines of Indal -Talabira- open cast Fire clay mines of Belpahar of TRL Quartzite Chuimpal Quartzite Jharsuguda-TRL Lime stone- Dungri-ACC Zinc-Sargipalli of HZL (closed)

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reservoir. - Increase in production of coal and proposed thermal Power Plants and aluminium smelters in the areas would increase the pollution load. Includes Daitari and Tomka iron ore area, Sukinda Chromite belt and adjacent mines of quartzite & fireclay. Pyroxenite is mined in the chromite area. This zone has high potential for nickel and platinum group. Chrome and iron ore resources are around 158 million tonnes 46 million tonnes respectively. With high chromite potential due to continuation at depth mining would continue for a long time with Under ground working. The chromite mines as source of hexavalent chromite is considered to be environmentally hazardous. Accordingly this zone with much resource is of concern from environmental point of view. Available bauxite resources are more than 1 billion tones. Besides, only bauxite mine at panchaptmali, this zone has scope for development of number of large mechanized Bauxite mines along with alumina plants. Other resources of manganese, limestone and graphite are being mined in small quantities. Limestone of Sunki area with 63 million tonnes has potential for increasing mining activities. Potential of graphite has not been established in detail while manganese resources are about 17 million tonnes.

Zone-4 Jajpur, Dhenkanal and Keonjhar Trijunctian area.

Chromite mines Kaliapani-open cast (OC) -OMC South Kaliapani- open cast (OC) -OMC Kalrangi- open cast (OC) OMC Kamarda- open cast (OC) -B.C Mohanty Ostapal- open cast (OC) Facor Tailangi- open cast (OC) IDC Saruabil- open cast (OC) OMC Sukrangi- open cast (OC) OMC Kathpal- open cast (OC) OMC Kathpal- open cast (OC) Facor Sukinda- Tisco Sukinda-Imfa Chingudipal- Imfa Kaliapani chromite-Jindal Sukinda- open cast (OC) Ispact alloy Iron ore Daitari opon cast OMC Tomka- Open cast OMC Quartzite in Jajpur area small mines

Zone-5 Koraput Rayagada kalahandi Bauxite area

Panchapatmali bauxite mine of Nalco. Baphlimali of Utkal Alumina, Kodinga mali of Aditya aluminium, Kutrumali Sijimali of L&T, Lanjgarh of Vedanta, Karlpat of another alumina plant are likely to be developed very soon. Pottangi, Maliparbat Kisunali & other small bauxite deposits are also likely to be mined soon. Nishikhal Manganese mine of OMC Umpavalli limestone mines of OMC & IDC etc. Number of small graphite mines of various companies.

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Zone-6 Biramitrapur Limestone & Dolomite belt

Zone-7 Baula-Nuasahi chromite belt of Keonjhar and adjacent Balasore district.

Zone-8 Gandhamardhan and adjacent areas of Keonjhar district. Zone-9 Northern part of the state in Mayurbhanj district.

Local opposition to bauxite mine development and socio economic upliftment of the poor tribal people of the locality has been of serious concern. a. It is one of the oldest mining area of the state b. Available resources of dolomite and limestone are about 360 and 400 million tonnes respectively. c. All the mines are open case and being captive would continue for long time Expansion of capacities is most likely to increase production. d. Small quartzite quarries are operating in the zone while resources are not properly assessed. e. Pollution of mines and industrial activity in the zone is considered to be significant. Chromite was first worked out Baula and total resources of chromite in this zone is around 10 million tones. It has potential for Nickel and Platinum group of elements. Soapstone is being locally worked in the area. There is potential for vanadiferrous magnetite. Gandhamardan iron our deposit as a single with more than 250 million tonnes reserves.

Gomordih limestone/dolomite mine TISCO Bisra stone & Lime-OMDC Lanjiberna Lime stone & dolomite-OCL Purnapani limestone- SAIL Kathakhurbahal-Siva cement Jalangbira Lime stone & dolomite mine Tanmura limestone & dolomite areas V.K. Lal Small mines of limestone and dolomite & working quarries of quartz/quartzites also exist.

Bangur chromite OMC Nuasahi chromite IMFA Baula chromite- OMC Baula Chromite-Facor N\Bangur chromite- ICCL Small quarries of soapstone. Gandhamardan iron ore mines of OMC

Besides gold, Kyanite and small mines of minor minerals are worked locally.

Large ore body has potential for developing large mechanized operation linked with proposed steel plants & export. Resources of gold and other not assessed.

a. Gorumahisani, Sulaipat and Badampahar iron ore mines. b. Joshipur, Pandupani Jadunathpur, Ghusuria. Baghajhumpa quartz/quartzite mines. c. Rugudi Jaslipur, Chanchabani and other small china clay mines. d. Khandikunia soapstone mine.

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Zone-10 Gopalpur coastal area of Ganjam district and adjacent Puri district.

Zone-11 Tumudibandh Graphite area

Zone-12 Bolangir Baragarh areas

There are number of small open cast manual mines. Iron ore of this area was first worked by TISCO. Besides left out iron ore of about 15 million tones China clay is being exploited in small quarries. Similarly soap stones & quartz is also being mined. it has potential for gold, copper vanadiferrous magnetite and asbestos. The mining activity is in low key today. It has the only beach sand mining in the state with adequate resources not assessed so far. There are small quarries of china clay in pockets small dimensional stone quarries exist in the Ganjam, Gajapati & adjacent areas. Besides graphite there are potential for manganese. Granite is also obtained from small quarries. The resources are not assessed. a. Gandhamardhan bauxite with reserves of over 200 million tones is the most potential mining area. b. Graphite is being worked in small quarries. c. It has potential for lead and limestone, which occur in small pockets.

a) OSCOM beach sand mine of Indian Rare Earth Limited producing ilmenite/rutile. Sillimanite, garnet besides zircon & Monazite. This may bring TiO2 & allied industries in future. b) Dimensional stone mines are being developed.

Graphite mines of Tumudibandh area is being worked by 3 to 4 parties for last 20 years. Forest conservation has limited mining activities for last 10-15 years.

Development of Gandhramardan bauxite mine by Balco has been stopped due to local opposition Buramal, Sekamal & Nuapara quartizite mines are operating producing small quantities. Besides Dudkanal graphite mine there are numbers of small graphite operations. Small operating quarries are not reported and recorded from environmental consideration. Mining activities are confined to small operations of graphite and quartzite.

Zone-13 Kalahandi district around Titlagarh

Graphite and gemstones are worked in number of small quarries for which resources are not yet assessed. Dimensional stones are also mined.

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Zone-14 Boudh, Sonepur & Phulbani area

Zone-15 Cuttack adjacent Dhenkanal areas & Khurda district Zone-16 Western Orissa, Malkalgiri & Nawarangapur, Nuapara district.

Very less mining activities so far and would also not increases as the area does not have much of mineral potential. It has small bauxite deposits like Anamanipahar. Small occurrences of graphite, was quarried for some time. It has potential for coal, diamond and gold besides gems stones and dimensional stones Mining activities continued in the past for fire clay and china clay. Quartzite & dolomite is mined today. Resources are very less. Stone and murrom quarries and crushers are in good numbers. It has been good potential for limestone & dolomite mining with resources of Nuapara 10 million tonnes, Nawarangapur 14 million tonnes & Malkangiri 250 million tonnes. China clay of Nawarangapur iron ore of Hirapur, tin ores of Malkangiri bauxite of Khariar, has potential, besides gold, diamond, graphite, gemstones and dimensional stones

Kalasulia quartzite is the only operating small open cast mine of ICCL.

Fire clay Talabasta Gopalpur quarry is mines

mines do not operate except & Telesinga fire clay mine. Quartzite & Banki dolomite operating in small open cast

No significant mining activities except china clay and dimensional stones in small quarries & gemstones by trial and error method. Tin exploitation at Malkangiri has stopped.

Response and Recommendations Attention for small mines & quarries in unorganized sector is urgently required. Reclamation, rehabilitation, afforestation, waste dumping, drainage control, mine closure and land use planning are essential, which have to be taken jointly by group of mines of a locality. This cluster approach of environment management can be planned & executed collectively by the mines of the area under supervision and monitoring of statutory agencies. Carrying capacity study is essential before any new mine or industry comes up in zones 1 to 5. Regional Impact Assessment is to be periodically taken up in zones 1 to 5, where land use and forest cover in mining areas need to be assessed by satellite imagery.
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Poor health, education and infrastructure i.e. road, water and power supply in the mining areas of tribal belt need immediate attention for improvement. Occupational health aspects need to be monitored in major mines and mining zones. Old abandoned areas of mines and quarries can be effectively planned for reclamation and converting into forest with water bodies and appropriate form of land use as per National Mineral Policy (1993) of Government of India.

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