Indian Minerals Yearbook 2013 (Part- III : Mineral Reviews)

Transcription

1 Indian Minerals Yearbook 2013 (Part- III : Mineral Reviews) 52 nd Edition (ADVANCE RELEASE) GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINES INDIAN BUREAU OF MINES Indira Bhavan, Civil Lines, NAGPUR PHONE/FAX NO. (0712) PBX : (0712) , , cme@ibm.gov.in Website: January,

2 3 Barytes Baryte or barite is the moderately soft crystalline mineral form of barium sulphate. Approximately, 80% barytes produced world wide is used for oil and gas drilling as a weighting agent to drill mud because of its unique physical and chemical properties like heavyness, high specific gravity and magnetic neutrality. It is a principal ore of barium and is used as a feedstock for producing various barium compounds, and is also utilised as filler, extender and aggregate. Baryte after converting to barium carbonate, is used in the manufacture of ceramic and glass. The Mangampet deposit in Cuddapah district of Andhra Pradesh is the single largest barytes deposit in the world. India is one of the leading producers and exporters of barytes in the world. RESOURCES The total resources of barytes in India as on as per UNFC system are placed at 73 million tonnes constituting 43% reserves and 57% remaining resources. By grades, 40% resources are of oil-well drilling grade followed by 6% of chemical grade, 1% of paint grade and 33% constitute low grade. About 20% resources are of other, unclassified and not-known categories. Andhra Pradesh alone accounts for 94% of the country's baryte resources (Table - 1). EXPLORATION & DEVELOPMENT Exploration activities for barytes carried out by the Geological Survey of India during are furnished in Table - 2. PRODUCTION, STOCKS AND PRICES The production of barytes at 1,739 thousand tonnes in registered a decrease of 2% as compared to that in the previous year. There were 14 reporting mines during the year under review as against 12 in the preceding year. Andhra Pradesh continued to be the premier state in barytes production accounting for almost the entire production of barytes. Very nominal production was reported from Rajasthan. The Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) Ltd, is the sole producer in public sector, which accounted for 98% of the total production during The remaining 2 percent output of barytes was contributed by 11 private sector mines. Among them contribution of one mine was only 40 tonnes. The rest was contributed by three mines with an annual production of 5 thousand to 20 thousand tonnes and nine mines with an annual production up to 5 thousand tonnes. Almost the entire production of barytes was of off-colour variety. Only nominal production was reported in snow white variety which was mainly from Cuddapah district of Andhra Pradesh and Udaipur district of Rajasthan (Tables - 3 to 6). The mine-head stocks of barytes at the end of the year were 5,041 thousand tonnes as against 5,233 thousand tonnes in the beginning of the year (Table-7). The average daily employment of labour in was 777 as against 606 in the previous year. Domestic prices of barytes are furnished in the General Review on 'Prices'. MINING, MARKETING AND TRANSPORT Barytes mines in India are worked by opencast method, except one in Himachal Pradesh and two in Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corp. Ltd, (APMDC), the largest producer, obtains barytes from the mechanised opencast mine in Mangampet area in Cuddapah district, Andhra Pradesh. Drills, loaders, dozers and dumper trucks are used for removing overburden. Barytes is won from benches using jackhammer's drilling followed by blasting and 3-2

3 Table 1 : Reserves/Resources of Barytes as on (By Grades/States) (In tonnes) Reserves Remaining resources Total Proved Probable Total Feasibility Pre-feasibility Measured Indicated Inferred Reconnaissance Total resources Grade/State STD111 (A) STD211 STD331 STD332 STD333 STD334 (B) (A+B) STD121 STD122 STD221 STD All India : Total By Grades Chemical-A Chemical -B Oil well Drilling Paint Low Others Unclassified Not-known By States Andhra Pradesh Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jharkhand Karnataka Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Rajasthan Tamil Nadu Uttarakhand West Bengal Figures rounded off.

4 Table 2 : Details of Exploration Activities for Barytes during Agency/ Location Mapping Drilling Sampling Remarks State/District Scale Area No. of Meterage No. Reserves/Resources estimated ( sq km) boreholes GSI Karnataka Bagalkot Gadisan- 1:12, Reconnaissance stage investigation kapura was carried out for assessment of barytes in the favourable host rock. More than 20 nos. barytes veins with width varying from 2-4 cm & length varying from 8-20 m were identified within pink porphyritic granite. Barytes mineralisation is hosted in quartz-chlorite schist of upper Mudanpur formation. Five barytes veins were noticed which are as follows : 1) 750 m NW of Gudisankarpure village 2) 1 km west of Gudisankarpure village 3) 1 km south of Jammaladinni 4) 1 km east of village Kesarbhavi 5) 1.5 km SE of Jammaldinni The width of barytes veins varied from m with m length. then loaded into trucks. The Corporation produces ore by engaging a raising contractor and supplies the ore to Exporters, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, Oil India, Barium Chemical Industries and also to local Pulversing Industries. While marketing, barytes is graded into two varieties: off-colour and snow-white. The white and snow-white varieties are used generally as fillers in the manufacture of rubber goods and as an opacifying material in the manufacture of paints and paper. The off-colour barytes is used for manufacturing chemicals or as drilling muds. Both the well-known grades laid down by Oil Companies Material Association (OCMA) and American Petroleum Institute (API) were produced and marketed in the country. The country supplies drilling grade barytes to Middle East and South America. 3-4

5 Table 3 : Principal Producers of Barytes Name and address of producer Location of mine State District M/s. Andhra Pradesh Mineral Andhra Cuddapah Development Corpn. Ltd, HMWS SB, Rear Block, 3rd Floor, Khairatabad, Hyderabad , Andhra Pradesh. Pradesh S.Ramadas, Andhra Nellore Flat No.150, 2B Pradesh Arthi Apartment, Habibullah Road, Post T-Nagar, Chennai Tamil Nadu. Table 4 : Production of Barytes, to (By States) (Qty in tonnes; value in `'000) State (P) Quantity Value Quantity Value Quantity Value India Andhra Pradesh Rajasthan Table 5 : Production of Barytes, and (By Sectors/States/Districts/Grades) (Qty in tonnes; value in ` 000) (P) State/District Grades Total Grades Total No. of Snow- Off- No of Snow- Offmines White colour Quantity Value mines White colour Quantity Value India Public sector Private sector Andhra Pradesh Cuddapah Kurnool# Khammam Nellore Prakasham Rajasthan Udaipur # Mine with production of dolomite. 3-5

6 Table 6 : Production of Barytes, and (P) (By Frequency Groups) (Qty in tonnes) No. of mines Production for Percentage in total Cumulative Production Group the group production percentage All Groups Up to Above Table 7 : Mine-head Stocks of Barytes, (P) (By States/Grades) (In tonnes) At the beginning of the year At the end of the year Grades Grades State Total Total Snow-white Off-colour Snow-white Off-colour India Andhra Pradesh Himachal Pradesh Rajasthan CONSUMPTION The consumption of barytes decreased to 186 thousand tonnes in from 194 thousand tonnes in The Oil-well drilling industry, the main consumer of barytes, accounted for 77% consumption, which was followed by Chemical industry with 18% consumption. Other barytes consuming industries like paint, asbestos products, glass, rubber, paper and cement accounted for the remaining 5% consumption (Table-8). Table 8 : *Consumption of Barytes, to (By Industries) (In tonnes) Industry (R) (P) All Industries Asbestos products 1000(1) 1000(1) 1000(1) Chemical 34300(5) 34300(5) 34300(5) Glass 600(7) 600(8) 600(8) Oil-well drilling (2) (2) (2) Paint 6400(31) 6800(31) 6800(31) Others(Paper & Rubber Refractories & Cement) 100(4) 100(4) 100(5) Figures rounded off. Figures in parentheses denote the number of units in organised sector reporting* consumption. (*Includes actual reported consumption and/or estimates made wherever required). 3-6

7 USES AND SPECIFICATIONS Oil and Gas Drilling The properties like non-corrosive, nonabrasive, insolubility in water, inertness and high specific gravity enable barytes application as a weighting agent in drilling operations to remove the cutting from the bits, transport cutting to the surface to reduce the friction in the drilling string control pressure, prevent blow-out and at the same time to provide lubrication. Barytes powder containing minimum 90% barium sulphate with 4.15 specific gravity is recommended for drilling. For offshore drilling, the specific gravity should be 4.2. At least 97% ground barytes should pass through 75- micron IS sieve and 95% through 53- micron IS sieve. Chemical Major barium chemicals obtained from barytes are carbonate, chloride, oxide, hydroxide, nitrate, peroxide and sulphate. Barium carbonate is used in glass industry as a flux to add brilliance & clarity in electro-ceramics and for removing inconvenient impurities in phosphoric acid. Barium hydroxide is used in the preparation of barium salts of organic acids which are utilised as additives for lubricating oils and as stabilisers for PVC. Barium sulphate is used as pigment, extender and filler in rubber and paper industries. Lithopone, a mixture of BaS4 and ZnS, is used in paint and lacquer industries as white pigment, extenders and fillers. Barium nitrate is used in green signal flares, tracer bullets, primers and detonators. Barium oxide is used in electric furnace. Barium titanate finds its use in miniature electronic and communication equipment. Barytes is also used in explosive manufacture. For chemical industry, purity is the prime criterion, with ferric oxide and strontium sulphate limited to a maximum 1% and fluorine to traces. The mesh size is also important in manufacturing chemicals. Barytes used in explosive manufacture may be bleached or unbleached. It should be in dry powder form free from extraneous matter. Paint Barytes is used as filler and extender in paint industry. White pigment is manufactured from barytes. Barytes should be free from mud, clay or siliceous minerals. Presence of iron oxide is undesirable. The material should be in the form of dry powder. 3-7 Glass In glass manufacturing, barytes is added to the glass melt for making the glass more workable and enhancing its brilliance. Iron is the most undesirable impurity in barytes. Rubber Barytes is used as a filler and extender in rubber products. It is added to rubber compounds to impart resiliency and durability. Barytes containing minimum 99.5% BaSO4 is usually preferred. Since such purity material is not found in nature, before use, barytes is normally bleached called 'blanc fixe' used as a best acid resistance. The sieve residue through 75-micron and 150- micron should be 4% and 0.01% max., respectively. BIS has prescribed IS: (Reaffirmed 2008) as specification of barytes for use in rubber industry. Other Uses Barytes is used in the manufacture of asbestos products required for autobrake lining and other frictional materials. It is used as a filler in paper industry oil cloth, X-Ray proof plaster and rope finishes. Finely ground barytes and clay are used as suspension in Barvois system of coal washing. Barytes is also used in concrete aggregate as an absorber of gamma and X- Ray radiation required for reactor shielding. In medicine, it is used in radiodiagnosis to highlight the abnormalities in internal body parts. Barytes also finds use in explosives and pyrotechnics composition for which BIS has laid down specifications vide IS (Reaffirmed 2011). The specifications of barytes for various industries are given in Table - 9. SUBSTITUTES AND TECHNICAL POSSIBILITIES Drilling mud substitutes include celestite, iron ore, synthetic hematite and ilmenite but the low cost and technical advantages of barytes deter substitution. Iron ore fines and ilmenite are substitutes used for deep drilling. Reclamation and recycling of drilling muds have been increasingly hampering the requirement for new supplies. Further new oil exploration techniques and drilling methods have reduced the need for new boreholes and wells, which have led to curtailment in the requirement for drilling muds. As a filler, barytes can be substituted by diatomite, felspar, kaolin, mica, talc and silica flour.

8 Table 9 : Specifications of Barytes in Different Industries Industry IS Specifications/ Chemical Constituent Physical characteristic Remarks Specifications of other Ca & Mg Alumi- Iron Fineness Relative Colour Volatile Residue Oil ph organisation BaSO 4 SiO 2 as CaCO 3 BaCO 3 nium as density matter on absorption as Al Fe sieve 1. Oil-well IS : , 90% (a) Passing 4.15 Off For offshore drilling (Second min through at colour drilling, relative Revision, 75-micron 27 o C density Reaffirmed 2003) IS sieve : shall be Grade-2 97% min (b) Passing through 53 micron IS sieve : 95% min 3-8 ONGC passing through 75 & 53 micron Oil India Ltd. 90% white min at 26+/-2 o C 2. Chemical IS : , Quality A' 2% 0.1% - 0.1% 0.1% (Second 97% max max max max Revision, Reaffirmed min 2003) Quality B - 2% % Silica and Grade-1 90% max max min aluminium min oxide together shall be 6% max. (Contd.)

9 Table 9 (Concld.) Industry IS Specifications/ Chemical Constituent Physical characteristic Remarks Specifications of other Ca & Mg Alumi- Iron Fineness Relative Colour Volatile Residue Oil ph organisation BaSO 4 SiO 2 as CaCO 3 BaCO 3 nium as density matter on absorption as Al Fe sieve 3. Paint IS : , 95% % at Snow- 0.5% 0.25% on 6 6 Matter soluble in (First Revision, min max 25 o C white to max 40-micron to to water should not Reaffirmed white. IS 12 8 be more than 0.5%. 2004) sieve Type - I (400 mesh) (Natural barytes) Grade - I Grade-II 95% % % -do- 0.5% 0.25% on 6 6 Matter soluble min max at 25 o C max. 63-micron to to in water should IS-Sieve 12 8 not be more than (240 mesh) 0.5%. 3-9 Type-II 97% % A close 0.5% 0.1% on 15 6 Matter soluble (Precipitated min max at 25 o C match max 40-micron to to in water should barytes) to that IS not be more of ap- sieve than 0.5%. proved (400 mesh) sample 4. Glass Based on user s 90 to 1.5% % / Iron is the most demand 98% max max as to mesh undesirable (preferably Al 2 O 3 0.5% impurity; 96%) max white colour (pre- or light shades ferably are preferred. 0.1% Fe 2 O 3 ) Note: BIS has prescribed IS: for specifications of barytes used in rubber industry and IS: for that used in explosive industry.

10 TRADE POLICY As per Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) , in force, import and export of barytes (both lumps and powder) as also witherite (natural barium carbonate) are allowed without restrictions under HS Code WORLD REVIEW The world reserves of barytes are assessed at 350 million tonnes. China, India, USA, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Mexico and Turkey accounted for 82% world reserve (Table-10). The world production of barytes increased marginally to 9.7 million tonnes in The leading producers were China (45%), India (18%), Morocco (10%) and USA (7%). The countrywise production of barytes is given in Table Table 11 : World Production of Barytes (By Principal Countries) (In 000 tonnes) Country World : Total Algeria Brazil e China Germany India Iran Kazakhstan Mexico Morocco e Peru Pakistan Russia e Thailand Turkey UK USA e Vietnam Other countries Source : World Mineral Production, Country Table 10 : World Reserves of Barytes (By Principal Countries) (In 000 tonnes) Reserves World : Total (rounded) China Germany 1000 India Kazakhstan Mexico 7000 Morocco Pakistan 1000 Russia Thailand Turkey USA Other countries Source : Mineral Commodity Summaries, FOREIGN TRADE Exports Exports of barytes increased considerably to lakh tonnes in from lakh tonnes in the previous year. Exports were mainly to USA (46%), Saudi Arabia (22%) and Malaysia (4%) (Tables - 12 and 13). Country Table 12 : Exports of Barytes (By Countries) Qty Value Qty Value (t) (` 000) (t) (` 000) All Countries USA Saudi Arabia Malaysia UAE Venezuela Thailand Brazil Oman Iraq Kuwait Other countries

11 Table 13 : Exports of Witherite (By Countries) Table 14 : Imports of Barytes (By Countries) Country Qty Value Qty Value (t) (` 000) (t) (` 000) Country Qty Value Qty Value (t) (` 000) (t) (` 000) All Countries New Zealand Bangladesh Indonesia Nepal Sri Lanka Other countries Imports In , imports of barytes were at 6,169 tonnes as compared to 3,720 tonnes in the previous year. Imports were mainly from China UK, Germany and Thailand. Imports of witherite was mainly from China in and (Tables - 14 and 15). Country Table 15: Imports of Witherite (By Countries) Qty Value Qty Value (t) (` 000) (t) (` 000) All Countries China All Countries China UK Germany Thailand Italy Chinese Taipei/Taiwan Egypt Pakistan Netherlands Korea, Rep. of Other countries FUTURE OUTLOOK India ranks second in the production of barytes in the world after China and is one of the important exporters in the world market. The world wide demand for barytes would continue till petroleum products are preferred as chief source of energy. In the domestic front, however, exploration is necessary to locate new deposits of barytes especially in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, etc. The apparent domestic demand of barytes is estimated to be 2.09 million tonnes by and is expected to grow at 9% growth rate. About 80% of the world's barytes is used in the petroleum industry. 3-11