Indian Minerals Yearbook 2019: Kyanite, Sillimanite and Andalusite
Indian Minerals Yearbook 2019: Kyanite, Sillimanite and Andalusite
Indian Minerals Yearbook 2019: Kyanite, Sillimanite and Andalusite
Indian Minerals
Yearbook 2019
(Part- III : MINERAL REVIEWS)
58th Edition
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF MINES
INDIAN BUREAU OF MINES
June, 2020
17-1
KYANITE, SILLIMANITE AND ANDALUSITE
K ya n i t e, si l l i m a n i t e a n d a n da l usi t e a r e
unhydrous aluminosilicate minerals that
have the same chemical formula Al 2O3 but differ in
The remaining 3.60% resources are in Kerala,
Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and West
Bengal collectively (Table-1).
crystal structure and physical properties. When
Sillimanite
calcined at high temperature around 1,350 0C to
The total reserves/resources of sillimanite as per
1,380 0C for kyan ite an d slightly h igher for
NMI database, based on UNFC system in the country
andalusite and sillimanite, these minerals are
as on 1.4.2015 has been placed at 70.20 million
converted to mullite, (3 Al 2O 3.2SiO 2) and silica
tonnes. Out of these resources, 6.50 million tonnes
(SiO 2) which are refractory minerals.
are under Reserves Category, while about 63.70
million tonnes are under the Remaining Resources.
Synthetic mullite is made by heating mixtures
Out of total resources, more than 73.33% are granular
of alumina and silica or bauxite and kaolin at
high-grade, while quartz sillimanite rocks and
around 1,550 0C to 2,000 0C. Refractories are heat
si lli man it e-bear ing rocks a re about 21.64%.
resistan t materials used in high tem perature
Resources of massive sillimanite of all grades are
applications, such as, furnaces, ladles, kilns, in
about 4.83%. The resources are located mainly in
the metallurgical, glass, chemical, cement and
Odisha (25.15%), Tamil Nadu (24.87%), Uttar Pradesh
other industries.
(16.30%), Andhra Pradesh (12.52%), Kerala (10.17%)
and Assam (6.55%). The remaining 4.44% resources
RESERVES/RESOURCES are in Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh,
Kyanite Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Rajasthan and West
The total reserves/resources of kyanite as per Bengal (Table-2).
NMI database, based on UNFC system as on
Andalusite
1.4.2015 in the country has been placed at 104.98
million tonnes. Out of these resources, only The total reserves/resources of andalusite in
0.68 million tonnes are Reserves and 104.29 million the country as on 1.4.2015 as per NMI database,
tonnes are under Remaining Resources. Out of ba sed on UNFC syst em h as been pla ced at
total resources, high and medium-grade resources 28.20 million tonnes. Most of the resources are of
together account for merely 1.74%, low grade reconnaissance category located in Uttar Pradesh
8%, mixed-grade 0.73%, quartz kyanite rock, (Table-3).
kyanite gneiss rock and kyanite schist 87.1% and
granular, others and not-known grades 2.41%. EXPLORATION & DEVELOPMENT
Statewise, share of Telangana is 46% of the total Details of exploration & development if any
r esources foll owed by Andhr a Pr a desh wit h are covered in the review of "Exploration &
30.5%, Karnataka 12.67% and Jharkhand 7.23%. Development" under "General Reviews".
17-2
Table – 1 : Reserves/Resources of Kyanite as on 1.4.2015
(By Grades/States)
(In tonnes)
17-3
Quartz kyanite rock - - - - - - - - - 81105358 - 81105358 81105358
Kyanite gneiss rock - - - - - - - - - 5370800 - 5370800 5370800
Kyanite schist - - - - - - - - 724 625 4250000 - 4974625 4974625
Others - - - - 593 710 234 91 303 166 10 12 - 125 30 - 933 909 933 909
Not-k nown - - - - 233 607 334 267 349 221 192 360 - 235 620 - 1345075 1345075
By States
KYANITE, SILLIMANITE AND ANDALUSITE
17-4
rock - - - - - - - - - - 3748000 3748000 3748000
Sillimanite- bearing
rock - - - - - - - 2100000 9350000 - - 11450000 11450000
Others - - - - - 110 70 - - - - - 110 70 110 70
Unclassified 134 40 - - 134 40 - - - - - - - - 134 40
Not-k nown - - - - - - - - 64 51 6 101 600 102 180 102 180
By States
Andhra Pradesh 20 45 - 37 20 82 15 112 78 12 26 7 7430300 1346988 - 8788861 8790943
Assam - - - - - - - - 850 000 67 00 3748000 4604700 4604700
KYANITE, SILLIMANITE AND ANDALUSITE
By States
Location of mine
Name & address of producer
State District
17-5
KYANITE, SILLIMANITE AND ANDALUSITE
20 16-17 20 17-18 2 0 1 8 -1 9 (P )
Sta te
Q u a n t it y Value Q u a n t it y Value Q u a n t it y Value
Quantity Quantity
State/District No. of Value No. of Value
mines 40 % Below Tota l mines 40 % Below Tota l
& above 40 % & above 40 %
Al2O 3 Al2O 3 Al2O 3 Al2O 3
17-6
KYANITE, SILLIMANITE AND ANDALUSITE
2 0 1 7 -1 8 2 01 8 -1 9 (P)
State
40% Al2 O 3 & Below 40% Tot a l 40% Al2 O 3 & Below 40% Tot a l
a bove Al2 O 3 a bove Al2 O 3
17-7
KYANITE, SILLIMANITE AND ANDALUSITE
Location of mine
Name & address of producer
State District
#
Trimex Sands Private Limited, Andhra Pradesh Srikakulam
Trimex Towers, No.-1, Subbraya Avenue,
C.P. Ramaswamy Road, Alwarpet,
Chennai - 600 018.
Tamil Nadu.
Indian Rare Earths Ltd, Kerala Kollam
Plot No. 1207, Odisha Ganjam
V. S Marg, Prabhadevi,
Mumbai-400 028,
Maharashtra.
*Pavri Kyanite Mines, Maharashtra Bhandara
A/1, Indrasagar,
Ravindranath Tagore Road,
Civil Lines,
Nagpur- 440 001
Maharashtra.
# Prod ucing as a n a ssociated mineral with ga rn et
* Prod uc in g as a n asso ciate d mine ra l with k ya nite
20 16-17 20 17-18 2 0 1 8 -1 9 ( P )
Sta te
Q u a n t it y Value Q u a n t it y Value Q u a n t it y Value
20 17-18 2 0 1 8 -1 9 (P )
St a t e/ Di st ri ct
No. of mi nes Q u a n t it y Value No. of mi nes Q u a n t it y Value
Figures in pa ren th ese s indica te the nu mb er of assoc iated mines with ga rne t a nd ky anite
17-8
KYANITE, SILLIMANITE AND ANDALUSITE
Table – 11: Mine-head Closing Stocks of subsequent ly loading by fron t-en d loader s,
Sillimanite, 2017-18 and 2018-19 wh e el l oa d er s a n d be l t c on ve yor s ; a n d
(ii) upgrading it to around 93% heavy minerals at
(By States)
D r e dg e & Wet C on ce n t r a t i on Pl a n t a n d
( In to n n es)
c on c e n t r a t e up g r a d i n g un i t . T h e Mi n e r a l
Recovery Plant (MRP) essentially consists of a
Sta te 20 17-18 2 0 1 8 -1 9 (P ) dredging system to mine the deposit and a pre-
India 21635 16324
concentration system to separate the valuable
minerals and dispose of the waste at the same
And hra Pra d esh 2428 865 place from where it was mined. The two systems
Ker a la 1470 1918 are mounted on a combined floating platform
which keeps moving with the progress of mining.
Me gha la ya 244 188
For details regarding mining and processing, etc.
M a h a r a sh tr a 16830 11965 of beach sand minerals, Review on 'Ilmenite and
Rutile' may be referred.
Odisha 663 1388
Andalusite USES
T h er e wa s n o pr oduct ion of a n da l usi t e Kyanite, sillimanite and andalusite are mainly
reported since 1988. used in refractories and ceramic products because
of their ability to form mullite phase at high
MINING & MARKETING temperature. Mullite is an essential component
of high-alumina refractories forming the inner
Kyanite lining of furnaces and high temperature vessels
Kyan i t e mi n es ar e worked by open ca st widely used in the production of metals,ceramics,
manual as well as semi-mechanised methods. glass and cement.These are used to manufacture
Generally, the mineral is marketed under three refractory products like dense bricks, insulating
grades: 60% Al 2O3 and above, 50-60% Al 2O 3 and bri cks, m on oli th ic & ca st ables. Si ll im an it e
less than 50% Al 2O3. These three grades are used refractory bricks are extensively used in steel and
in the manufacture of refractories. glass industries and also in ceramics, cement
kilns, heat treatment furnaces and petrochemical
Sillimanite industries.
Sillimanite mines are also worked by opencast
method. Pohra mine of Maharashtra State Mining SPECIFICATIONS
Corporation Ltd is semi-mechanised. BIS has prescribed IS:14301-1995 (reaffirmed
Granular sillimanite is obtained from beach in 2011) for kyanite used in Refractory Industry.
sands in Kerala, Odisha and Tamil Nadu as a There are two grades i.e. Grade-1 and Grade-2.
by-product along with ilmenite, rutile, zircon, Composition of kyanite under this specification
garnet, etc. while recovering monazite. The is Al 2O3 58% min. Grade-1 and 54% min. for Grade-
Odisha Sands Complex of IREL in the coastal 2; Fe2O3 1.50% max., K2O + Na 2O 1% max.; other
region of Chatrapur in Ganjam district, Odisha constituents would be for as agreed between the
has the capacity to recover 10,000 tpy granular s up p l i e r a n d pu r c h a s er. Pyr om e t r i c C on e
sillimanite at present. At Chatrapur, mining is Equivalent (PCE) specified would have to be not
carried out by suction dredging with gravel pump. less than 36 for Grade-1 and 35 for Grade-2. Size
Presently IREL's Chavara plant in Kollam district, of the material is 50 to 150 mm or 10 to 50 mm.
Kerala, has an installed capacity of 10,000 tpy BIS has laid down IS:14302-1995 (reaffirmed
granular sillimanite. in 2011) in respect of beach sand sillimanite for
At Chavara in Kerala, beach sand mining use in Refractory Industry, while IS:2045-1962 in
operations are carried out by IREL in two stages: respect of natural sillimanite blocks for glass
(i) by means of bulldozers and wheel loaders, and melting tanks furnaces has been withdrawn.
17-9
KYANITE, SILLIMANITE AND ANDALUSITE
17-10
KYANITE, SILLIMANITE AND ANDALUSITE
al tern ati ve r aw m aterial such a s an dal usit e. remaining other was contributed by Japan & Germany
Demand for refractories in iron and steel production (5% each) and Nepal (3%). Exports of andalusite during
is expected to have larger increases in countries with 2018-19 increased manifolds 100 tonnes from 6 tonnes
higher growth rates in steel production. Increased in the previous year. Andalusite was exported mainly to
demand also is anticipated for refractories used to
Saudi Arabia (75%) and UAE (25%) (Tables - 14 to 16).
produce other metals and in the industrial mineral
market because of increasing production of cement, Imports
ceramics, glass, and other mineral products.
In 2018-19, imports of kyanite were at 997 tonnes as
FOREIGN TRADE against 620 tonnes in the previous year registering an
Exports increase of 61%. Imports of sillimanite were at 99 tonnes
which increased manifolds during 2018-19 as compared
Exports of kyanite during 2018-19 at 284 tonnes
to the previous year. Imports of andalusite at 14,263
increased drastically by 70% from 166 tonnes in the tonnes decreased slightly by 1 % during 2018-19 from
previous year. Exports were mainly to Greece (59%), that of the previous year. The imports of kyanite were
China (20%), Saudi Arabia (7%), Nepal & Niger (5%), from USA (74%) and China (22%). Ukraine (53%), Hong
Philippines & Yemen (2% each). On the other hand Kong (28%), Japan (7%), China (6%) and USA (5%) were
exports of sillimanite decreased by 38% to 9,986 tonnes the main suppliers of sillimanite, while South Africa
in 2018-19 from 16,193 tonnes in the previous year. (82%), France (11%) and Peru (6%) were the main suppliers
Sillimanite was exported mainly to China (83%) & of andalusite in 2018-19 (Tables - 17 to 19).
Table – 14: Exports of Kyanite Table – 15: Exports of Sillimanite
(By Countries) (By Countries)
2 0 1 7 -1 8 (R) 2 0 1 8 -1 9 ( P ) 2 0 1 7 -1 8 (R) 2 0 1 8 -1 9 ( P )
Country Country
Qty Value Qty Value Qty Value Qty Value
(t) (`’000) (t) (`’000) (t) (`’000) (t) (`’000)
All Countries 16 6 34 04 28 4 48 73 All Countries 161 93 1 7 18 3 5 99 86 111 874
Greece 14 0 25 98 16 7 35 14 China 126 16 1 2 75 7 0 82 94 865 53
China - - 56 59 1 Japan 45 2 78 86 45 7 108 34
Saudi Arab - - 20 24 1 Germany 10 62 123 36 50 5 58 87
Nepal 6 14 4 13 16 2 Nepal 11 89 85 19 33 3 19 50
Nigeria - - 13 96 Thailand 23 5 39 27 90 17 52
Phillippines - - 5 86 Iran 23 8 54 98 50 11 46
Yemen - - 5 83 Malaysia 87 14 05 50 92 3
Bangladesh 1 30 1 53 Saudi Arabia 50 84 2 50 82 2
UAE 16 49 8 3 41 Taiwan - - 48 62 2
Malawi - - ++ 5 Vietnam 50 90 1 30 61 6
Other countries 3 13 4 ++ ++ Other countries 21 4 2950 79 77 0
Figures rounded off Figures rounded off
Table – 16: Exports of Andalusite
(By Countries)
2 0 1 7 -1 8 (R) 2 0 1 8 -1 9 ( P )
Country
Qty Value Qty Value
(t) (`’000) (t) (`’000)
All Countries 6 32 7 10 0 26 60
UAE 6 32 7 25 14 25
Saudi Arabia - - 75 12 34
Figures rounded off
17-11
KYANITE, SILLIMANITE AND ANDALUSITE
2 0 1 7 -1 8 (R) 2 0 1 8 -1 9 (P )
Country
Qty Value Qty Value
(t) (`’000) (t) (`’000)
China 82 70 3 21 8 16 75
Virgin Is Us - - 40 11 97
Japan - - ++ 18
2 0 1 7 -1 8 (R) 2 0 1 8 -1 9 (P )
Country
Qty Value Qty Value
(t) (`’000) (t) (`’000)
All Countries 18 10 28 99 24 04
Uk raine - - 52 75 5
Hong Kong - - 28 42 4
Japan 9 72 9 7 53 0
China - - 6 38 6
USA 5 23 1 5 27 6
Taiwan 4 46 1 22
Kuwait - - ++ 8
UK - - ++ 3
Ita ly ++ 12 - -
Belgium ++ 10 - -
20 17-18 2018-19
Country
Qty Value Qty Value
(t) (`’000) (t) (`’000)
17-12
KYANITE, SILLIMANITE AND ANDALUSITE
17-13