As Telangana joins India’s mineral auction regime, two limestone blocks auctioned in November

  • December 2, 2024
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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As Telangana joins India’s mineral auction regime, two limestone blocks auctioned in November

Sub : Geo

Sec : Eco Geo

Context:

  • Telangana became the 14th state to join the Centre’s mineral auction regime.
  • In November, the state successfully auctioned two limestone blocks at Sultanpur and Saidulnama.

Mineral Auctions Across States in FY25:

  • A total of 81 mineral blocks have been auctioned across 13 states, including critical and major minerals like:
    • Limestone, manganese, tungsten, gold, cobalt, graphite, vanadium, bauxite, and iron ore.
  • Prominent states involved: Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Odisha.

Controversy over Tamil Nadu Tungsten Block:

  • Nayakkarpatti tungsten block (20.16 sq km) was auctioned to Hindustan Zinc.
  • Tamil Nadu raised concerns about mining in a biodiversity reserve, citing environmental risks.
    • Only 1.93 sq km of the block overlaps with the Aritapatti-Meenakshipuram Biodiversity Heritage Site, and guidelines exclude such areas from exploration.
  • The Ministry clarified adherence to Environment Ministry guidelines and awaits land schedule details from the state.

About Tungsten:

  • Also known as ‘wolfram’.
  • It is a very dense lustrous greyish white to steel-grey metal.
  • Tungsten does not occur naturally as free metal.
  • The major sources of tungsten are minerals scheelite (Calcium tungstate, CaWO4) and Wolframite [mixture of ferrous tungstate and manganous tungstate, (Fe,Mn)WO4] which are predominantly hydrothermal in origin.
  • Tungsten has a melting point of 3,422OC, the highest of all metals and is resistant to all acids at ordinary temperatures.
  • It has good corrosion resistance, good thermal & electrical conductivity and low coefficient of expansion.
  • It is elastic, ductile and has high tensile strength and can be drawn into very thin wires.
  • As tungsten has an extremely high melting point and is ductile, it is widely used in filaments of light bulbs and vacuum tubes, and for heating elements in electrical furnaces.
  • When exposed to air, a protective oxide is formed on the surface of the metal, but tungsten can be oxidised more fully at high temperature. When alloyed in small quantities with steel, tungsten greatly increases the hardness of steel.
  • Policy:
    • As per the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-20, the imports and exports of tungsten ores and concentrates (HS Code 26110000) are allowed free.
  • The entire domestic requirement of tungsten ore/concentrates is met by imports.
  • China ranks first in the world in terms of tungsten resources and reserves and has some of the largest deposits. 
  • The world reserves of tungsten in terms of metal content are about 3.2 million tonnes, distributed broadly amongst China (59%), Russia (7%), Vietnam (3%) & Spain (2%).
  • China was the leading producer (78%) followed by Vietnam (7%), Russia (3%) and Korea Dem. P. R., UK & Rwanda.

Reserves:

  • Resources of tungsten-bearing minerals are mainly distributed in Karnataka (42%), Rajasthan (27%), Andhra Pradesh (17%) and Maharashtra (9%).
  • The remaining 5% resources are in Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
  • Rajasthan:
    • Degana
    • Balda of sirohi district
    • Dewa-Ka-Bera of Sirohi district
    • Udwarya of Sirohi
  • West Bengal: Bankura deposit
  • Kuhi-Khobana-Agargaon belt, Sakoli basin in the district of Bhandara and Nagpur of Maharashtra.
  • Gold ore (Kolar Gold Fields) at Mysore mine of BGML in Karnataka.

Mining:

  • Degana in Rajasthan and Chendapathar in West Bengal were the only mines of tungsten in India that had produced meagre quantities of concentrate.

Uses of Tungsten

  1. Industrial Applications
  • Ferro-Tungsten:
    • Used in special and alloy steels.
    • Critical for military applications.
    • Contains 25%-75% tungsten.
  • Tungsten Carbide:
    • One of the hardest synthetic materials.
    • Widely used in:
      • Cutting tools & devices.
      • Wear-resistant materials (operable at high temperatures).
      • Construction, mining, and oil drilling industries.
    • Binders: Uses cobalt or nickel metal powders to bind tungsten carbide grains.
  1. Chemical and Decorative Applications
  • Used in dyes and pigments.
  • Manufacturing of paints and printing inks.
  • Adds yellow tint in the ceramic industry.
  • Found in ornaments and other decorative items.
  1. Advanced Applications
  • Tungsten Alloys:
    • Heat sinks, radiation shielding, weights & counterweights.
    • Superalloys for turbine parts.
    • Tool steels and wear-resistant parts/coatings.
  • Substitute for lead in bullets and shot.
  1. Electrical and Consumer Products
  • Filaments: Used in incandescent light bulbs.
  • Cathodes for electronic tubes, HID lamps, cell phones, and TVs.
  1. Defense and Chemical Industries
  • Armor-piercing ammunition.
  • Superalloys with copper or silver.
  • Extensive use in the chemical industry.

Source: TH_BL

As Telangana joins India’s mineral auction regime Geography