BAUXITE

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

52nd Edition

BAUXITE

(ADVANCE RELEASE)

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF MINES
INDIAN BUREAU OF MINES

Indira Bhavan, Civil Lines,

NAGPUR 440 001

PHONE/FAX NO. (0712) 2565471

PBX : (0712) 2562649, 2560544, 2560648
E-MAIL : cme@ibm.gov.in
Website: www.ibm.gov.in

January, 2015

4-1
 BAUXITE

4 Bauxite

B auxite is basically an aluminous rock containing

hydrated aluminium oxide as the main constituent
and iron oxide, silica and titania in varying proportions.
Hydrated aluminium oxides present in the bauxite ore
are diaspore and boehmite, Al2O3.H2O (Al2O3-85%; Al-
45%); gibbsite or hydrargillite, Al2O3.3H2O (Al2O3-
65.4%; Al-34.6%), and bauxite (containing colloidal
alumina hydrogel), Al2O3.2H2O (Al2O3-73.9%; Al-39.1%).
The iron oxide in bauxite ore is present as haematite or
goethite, silica as clay and free quartz, and titania as
leucoxene or rutile. Bauxite is an essential ore of
aluminium which is one of the most important non-
ferrous metals used in the modern industry. It is also an
essential ore for Refractory and Chemical industries.
The country has abundant resources of bauxite which
can meet both domestic and export demands.
total production. Fortyseven major mines, each
producing more than 50 thousand tonnes per annum,
together accounted for 93 percent of the total
production.
The contribution of the Panchpatmali bauxite
mine of NALCO was 35% of the total production. The
share of public sector mines was about 42% of the
total production in 2012-13 as against 43% in the previ-
ous year.
About 63 % of the total production of bauxite was
of 40-45% Al2O3 grade, 15% was of Cement grade , 12
% was of 45-50% Al2O3 grade, 7% was of below 40%
Al2O3 grade, 2% was of Refractory grade and one
percent of production was reported together in 50-
55% Al2O3, 55-60% Al2O3,, Abrasive and Chemical
grades during the year under review.

Odisha continued to be the leading producing state

RESOURCES
Resources of bauxite in the country as on 1.4.2010,
as per UNFC system are placed at 3,480 million tonnes.
These resources include 593 million tonnes reserves
and 2,887 million tonnes remaining resources. By grades,
about 84% resources are of metallurgical grade. The
resources of refractory and chemical grades are limited
and together account for about 4%. By States, Odisha
alone accounts for 52% of country's resources of bauxite
followed by Andhra Pradesh (18%), Gujarat (7%),
Chhattisgarh & Maharashtra (5% each) and Madhya
Pradesh & Jharkhand (4% each). Major bauxite
resources are concentrated in the East Coast bauxite
deposits in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh (Table-1).
and accounted for about 36% of the total production.
Next in the order of production were Gujarat (20%)
Jharkhand & Maharashtra ( 13 % each ), Chhattisgarh
(12%), Madhya Pradesh (5 %) and the remaining one
percent was produced by Goa, Karnataka and Tamil
Nadu (Table - 3 to 6).
Mine-head stocks at the end of 2012-13 was 6,902
thousand tonnes as compared to 7,988 thousand
tonnes at the beginning of the year. About 90% of the
total stock was held in Gujarat at the end of the year
(Table-7).
The average daily employment of labour in
bauxite mines was 6,905 in 2012-13 as against 7,684
in the previous year.

EXPLORATION & DEVELOPMENT

Details of exploration carried out for bauxite
by GSI, State Directorates of Geology & Mining,
Government of Chhattisgarh and Gujarat Mineral
Dev. Corp. during 2012-13 are given in Table - 2.

PRODUCTION, STOCKS &

PRICES
The production of bauxite at 15,360 thousand
tonnes in 2012-13 increased by 13% as compared to
previous year, due to better market demand.

There were 152 reporting mines in 2012-13 as

against 172 in the previous year. Besides, production
of bauxite was reported as associate mineral by 10
mines during the year. In all, 70 producers reported
production of bauxite in 2012-13. Ten principal
producers having 42 mines contributed 86% of the
4-2
 Table 1 : Reserves/Resources of Bauxite as on 1.4.2010
(By Grades/States)
(In '000 tonnes)

Reserves Remaining resources

Total
Grade/State Proved Probable Total Feasibility Pre-feasibility Measured Indicated Inferred Reconnaissance Total resources
STD111 (A) STD211 STD331 STD332 STD333 STD334 (B) (A+B)
STD121 STD122 STD221 STD222

All India : Total 321258 89223 182457 592938 105894 245091 274165 655673 431006 1155570 19283 2886682 3479620
By Grades
Chemical 2314 - - 2314 - 3986 411 2493 182 4947 - 12019 14333
Refractory 26480 44837 951 72268 753 5590 402 5201 208 9326 - 21480 93748
Chemical/Refractory
mixed with others 3416 - 39 3455 202 1924 344 1919 216 9038 - 13643 17098
Metallurgical-1 184786 38129 155095 378010 65568 187321 215300 446004 293097 630731 14843 1852864 2230874
Metallurgical-2 28669 961 12265 41895 13956 9938 29189 104223 67309 309123 4440 538178 580073
Metallurgical mixed 11435 338 5019 16792 3919 1135 2518 53898 - 28611 - 90081 106873
Low Grade 32145 4452 5133 41730 21054 6334 18614 22189 54837 108521 - 231549 273279
Mixed Grade

BAUXITE
excluding chemical/
refractory 21283 268 1312 22863 177 6960 6766 3800 4244 13373 - 35320 58183
4-3

Abrasive 113 20 40 173 - 634 123 92 56 961 - 1866 2039

Others 8640 103 2544 11287 92 - 472 2489 5136 9135 - 17324 28611
Unclassified 1088 115 59 1262 171 21257 26 13360 5720 11039 - 51573 52835
Not-known 889 - - 889 - 12 - 5 - 20765 - 20782 21671

By States
Andhra Pradesh - - - - - - - 188971 138120 288176 - 615267 615267
Bihar - - - - - - - - - 4114 - 4114 4114
Chhattisgarh 21246 48435 4818 74499 3992 4069 875 33764 11792 23241 18747 96480 170979
Goa 15169 - 1207 16376 14941 1097 10121 6820 - 8646 - 41625 58001
Gujarat 98794 4560 10407 113761 3359 20295 2586 26593 22107 48019 - 122959 236720
Jammu & Kashmir - - - - - - - 1323 182 520 - 2025 2025
Jharkhand 16023 7290 12863 36176 5135 11341 5531 15760 17397 54447 536 110147 146323
Karnataka 5399 542 - 5941 1735 394 10 - 2220 45405 - 49764 55705
Kerala - - - - 29 - 24 2037 9284 2722 - 14096 14096
Madhya Pradesh 17144 1068 1590 19802 3151 11733 1199 6640 53715 50551 - 126989 146791
Maharashtra 14461 4473 7219 26153 16886 6704 12531 52191 10524 49896 - 148732 174885
Odisha 132314 22855 144354 299523 56667 188316 237723 310224 155081 562924 - 1510935 1810458
Rajasthan - - - - - - - - - 528 - 528 528
Tamil Nadu 708 - - 708 - 1141 3564 960 10084 8363 - 24112 24820
Uttar Pradesh - - - - - - - 10390 500 8018 - 18908 18908

Figures rounded off.

 BAUXITE
Table 2 : Details of Exploration Activities for Bauxite, 2012-13

Agency/ Location Mapping Drilling

State/ Area/ Sampling Remarks
District Block Scale Area No. of Meterage (No.) Reserves/Resources estimated
(sq km) boreholes drilled

Directorate of Geology &

Mining, Kerala
Kasaragod Vidhanagar and - - - - 101 -
Manjeshwaram

-do- Aravanchal Area - - 02 41.5 - A total of 07 boreholes was drilled

with cumulative depth of 187 m.
The average thickness of variegated
clay is about 9 m. Resources are
yet to be estimated.

Kannur Peringome East - - 40 791.5 - Boreholes were drilled over an area

Taliparambu Tq. of 550 acres and at a grid interval of
250 m. The average thickness of
variegated clay is about 11 m &
that of overburden laterite is about
7 m. Resources to be estimated
after receipt of chemical analysis
report.
Directorate of Geology &
Mining,
Chhattisgarh
Kabirdham Darai 1:50,000 9 5 102 1077 475 About 2.5 lakh tonnes resources
Area 1:4,000 2.16 of bauxite have been estimated.

Surguja Dandkeshra 1:50,000 5 5 98 1096 1577 About 5 lakh tonnes of metal

Mainpat 1:4,000 1.28 grade bauxite resources have
been estimated.
Gujarat Mineral
Development Corporation Ltd.
Calcined Bauxite
Project,
Gadhsisa Asambiya Nana Mota - - 42 634 23 -
Ramaniya - - 43 614 118 -
Pundi-Tumbdi-Faradi - - 321 4208 438 -
WBD-Wandh- - - 226 2201 322 -
Bhadai-Dhokia
Wandh 2 mine - - 5 45 - -
Sherdi-Bhadai- - - 258 3003 270 -
Hamala
KMB-Kotdi-
Mahadevpuri-Boha - - 131 964 91 -
Miyani-Khirsara- - - 247 1577 311 -
Nudhatad
Ramaniya - - 114 1133 171 -
Mota Nadra - - 40 275 54 -
Naredi
Wamoti Moti - - 34 173 16 -
Wamoti Nani Moti - - 298 2305 169 -
Wamoti Moti Daban - - 17 185 6 -
Mathala-Moti- - - 73 688 38 -
Balachod
Kandhay - - 104 2022 66 -

4-4
 BAUXITE
Table 3 : Principal Producers of Bauxite, 2012-13 Table - 3 (Concld.)
Location of mine
Location of mine
Name & address of producer
Name & address of producer
State District
State District

National Aluminium Co. Ltd., Odisha Koraput Smt Nirmalaben S. Mehta Gujarat Jamnagar
Okha- Jamnagar Highway,
NALCO Bhawan, P/1, Nayapali
Jam-Khambhaliya
Bhubaneshwar 751 061 Jamnagar-361 305
Odisha. Gujarat

Bharatesh Construction Company Maharashtra Kolhapur

34/35, Corporation Complex, Raigad
Hindalco Industries Ltd. Chhattisgarh Surguja
Goaves, Hindwadi,
Century Bhawan, Jharkhand Gumla Belgaum-590 011
Dr. Annie Besant Road, Lohardaga Karnataka.
Worli , Mumbai 400 025 Maharashtra Kolhapur
Maharashtra. Odisha Rayagada Awin Trading Private Ltd, Madhya Katni
Padwar, Slimnabad, Pradesh
Bahoribandh
Bombay Minerals Ltd. Gujarat Jamnagar Katni-483 501
Okha, Jamnagar Highway Madhya Pradesh
Jam-Khambalia-361 305
Jamnagar,Gujarat.
Ashapura Minechem Ltd, Maharashtra Ratnagiri
278, 3rd Floor, D.N. Road,
Bharat Aluminium Co. Ltd. Chhattisgarh Kawardha Jeevan Udyog Building,
Balco Nagar, Surguja Fort, Mumbai-400 001
Township Korba - 495 684
Chhattisgarh M.P.State Mining Corporation Ltd Madhya Rewa
Paryawas Bhawan, Pradesh Satna
Block No 1(A) ,Second Floor , Shahdol
Gujarat Mineral Dev.Corp. Ltd. Gujarat Jamnagar Jail Road, Arera Hills
Khanij Bhavan, Kachchh Bhopal-462 011
132 Ft.Ring Road Madhya Pradesh
Vastrapur, Ahmadabad
Gujarat (Contd.)

Table 4 : Production of Bauxite, 2010-11 to 2012-13

(By States)
(Qty in tonnes; value in `'000)

2010-11 2011-12 2012-13(P)

States
Quantity Value Quantity Value Quantity Value

India 12722820 5122151 13599566 6126011 15360464 7097373

Chhattisgarh 2109949 777273 2391837 1444642 1818168 1047213

Goa 100900 10090 84700 9317 87200 9422

Gujarat 938574 570664 847382 460722 3017709 1424645

Jharkhand 1855993 627327 1969439 748448 2008367 848769

Karnataka 64643 11348 83019 20174 81200 28420

Madhya Pradesh 616319 262437 813399 460884 822165 370060

Maharashtra 2133736 549201 2285443 651353 1969843 655045

Odisha 4856808 2305022 5055269 2313176 5460035 2675535

Tamil Nadu 45898 8789 69078 17295 95777 38264

4-5
 Table 5 (A) : Gradewise Production of Bauxite, 2011-12
(By Sectors/States/Districts) (Qty in tonnes; Value in `'000)
For use in Alumina & Aluminium extraction : Al2O3 content For use in other than Alumina & Aluminum extraction Total
State/District No. of 60% & 55- 50- 45- 40- Below Cement Abrasive Refractory Chemical Quantity Value
Mines above 60% 55% 50% 45% 40%

India 172 (12) - 27507 309442 1743025 9807163 1036749 390904 131468 149009 4299 13599566 6126011
Public Sector 20 - 27507 296372 70491 5294201 32642 - 64128 67358 - 5852699 2752977
Private Sector 152 (12) - - 13070 1672534 4512962 1004107 390904 67340 81651 4299 7746867 3373034
Chhattisgarh 12 - - - 1052467 1339140 - - 230 - - 2391837 1444642
Kabirdham 2 - - - 964365 - - - 230 - - 964595 598084
Surguja 10 - - - 88102 1339140 - - - - - 1427242 846558
Goa 1 - - - - - - 84700 - - - 84700 9317
South Goa 1 - - - - - - 84700 - - - 84700 9317
Gujarat 79 - 27507 297540 70491 86522 32892 101445 130109 98716 2160 847382 460722
Amreli 1 - - - - - 250 - - - - 250 121
Jamnagar 63 - - 1168 - 65022 - 38480 55882 31358 2160 194070 97299
Junagarh 1 - - - - - - 9061 - - 9061 970
Kachchh 9 - 27507 296372 70491 21500 32642 1650 64227 67358 - 581747 348481
Porbandar 5 - - - - - - 52254 10000 - - 62254 13851
Jharkhand 31 - - - 101758 1858931 8750 - - - - 1969439 748448

BAUXITE
Gumla 19 - - - 59058 1160676 - - - - - 1219734 470749
4-6

Latehar 1 - - - - 13706 - - - - - 13706 8415

Lohardaga 11 - - - 42700 684549 8750 - - - - 735999 269284
Karnataka 2 - - - - 83019 - - - - 83019 20174
Belgaum 1 - - - - - 83019 - - - - 83019 20174
Dakshina Kannada * 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -
Madhya Pradesh 24 (11) - - - 98400 430275 213332 18960 - 50293 2139 813399 460884
Anuppur 1 - - - - 49550 - - - - - 49550 31068
Jabalpur* 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -
Katni 3 (5) - - - 94695 1860 200997 18960 - - - 316512 165663
Rewa 5 - - - 300 59835 8707 - - - - 68842 29256
Satna 9 (6) - - - 3405 13400 3628 - - 38922 2139 61494 46557
Shahdol 2 - - - - 305630 - - - - - 305630 174695
Sidhi 3 - - - - - - - - 11371 - 11371 13645
Maharashtra 16 - - 11902 378086 1089189 688416 117850 - - - 2285443 651353
Kolhapur 7 - - 11902 378086 500680 446416 113850 - - - 1450934 423470
Raigad 6 - - - - 120700 234000 - - - - 354700 96536
Ratnagiri 3 - - - - 467809 8000 4000 - - - 479809 131347
Odisha 4 (1) - - - 41823 5003106 10340 - - - - 5055269 2313176
Koraput 2 - - - - 5003106 - - - - - 5003106 2281467
Sundargarh * 2 (1) - - - 41823 - 10340 - - - - 52163 31709
Tamil Nadu 3 - - - - - - 67949 1129 - - 69078 17295
Namakkal * 2 - - - - - - - - - - - -
Salem 1 - - - - - - 67949 1129 - - 69078 17295

Figures in parentheses indicate number of associated mines with fireclay, kaolin,manganese ore and ochre. * Only labour reported.
 Table 5 (B) : Gradewise Production of Bauxite, 2012-13 (P)
(By Sectors/States/Districts) (Qty in tonnes; Value in `'000)
For use in Alumina & Aluminium extraction : Al2O3 content For use other than Alumina & Aluminum extraction Total

State/District No. of 60% & 55- 50- 45- 40- Below Cement Abrasive Refractory Chemical Quantity Value
Mines above 60% 55% 50% 45% 40%

India 152(10) - 1150 37074 1913239 9650105 1139501 2233641 57271 264225 64258 15360464 7097373
Public Sector 20 - - 1689 574081 5642288 41200 86510 1909 78292 14428 6440397 3359045
Private Sector 132(10) - 1150 35385 1339158 4007817 1098301 2147131 55362 185933 49830 8920067 3738328
Chhattisgarh 12 - - - 862845 955323 - - - - - 1818168 1047213
Kabirdham 2 - - - 732120 - - - - - - 732120 469101
Surguja 10 - - - 130725 955323 - - - - - 1086048 578112
Goa 1 - - - - - - 87200 - - - 87200 9422
South Goa 1 - - - - - - 87200 - - - 87200 9422
Gujarat 67 - 1150 25574 574081 112966 41200 1937123 56704 220100 48811 3017709 1424645
Jamnagar 53 - 1150 23885 - 64352 - 1692090 56204 141808 34383 2013872 713951
Kachchh 8 - - 1689 574081 48614 41200 86510 - 78292 14428 844814 655661
Porbandar 5 - - - - - - 152501 - - - 152501 52913
Sabarkantha 1 - 6022 500 - - 6522 2120
Jharkhand 31 - - - 80420 1350068 577879 - - - - 2008367 848769
Gumla 19 - - - 74070 1138516 - - - - - 1212586 483441

BAUXITE
Latehar 1 - - - - 64847 - - - - - 64847 34009
4-7

Lohardaga 11 - - - 6350 146705 577879 - - - - 730934 331319

Karnataka 2 - - - - - 7500 73700 - - - 81200 28420
Belgaum 1 - - - - - 7500 73700 - - - 81200 28420
Dakshina Kannada* 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -
Madhya Pradesh 17(9) - - - 95735 478155 174730 13973 - 44125 15447 822165 370060
Anuppur 1 - - - - 49851 - - - - 49851 13696
Jabalpur (1) - - - - - - 2436 - - - 2436 897
Katni 4(3) - - - 93186 141000 168450 - - 6186 - 408822 202970
Rewa 2 - - - 140 51441 5960 - - - - 57541 19654
Satna 5(5) - - - 2409 - 320 11537 - 22425 15447 52138 45386
Shahdol 2 - - - - 235863 - - - - - 235863 64242
Sidhi 3 - - - - - - - - 15514 - 15514 23215
Maharashtra 15 - - 11500 259964 1333752 338192 26435 - - - 1969843 655045
Kolhapur 5 - - 11500 259964 1033118 100750 17790 - - - 1423122 477429
Raigarh 6 - - - - 78400 178500 - - - - 256900 67153
Ratnagiri 4 - - - - 222234 58942 8645 - - - 289821 110463
Odisha 4(1) - - - 40194 5419841 - - - - - 5460035 2675535
Koraput 2 - - - - 5419841 - - - - - 5419841 2648203
Raygada* 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sundargarh 1(1) - - - 40194 - - - - - - 40194 27332
Tamil Nadu 3 - - - - - - 95210 567 - - 95777 38264
Namakkal * 2 - - - - - - - - - - - -
Salem 1 - - - - - - 95210 567 - - 95777 38264

Figures in parentheses indicate number of associated mines. * Only labour reported.

 BAUXITE
Table 6 : Production of Bauxite, 2011-12 and 2012-13(P)
(By Frequency Groups)
(Qty in tonnes)

No. of Production Percentage to total Cumulative

Production mines for the group production percentage
group
2011-12 2012-13 2011-12 2012-13 2011-12 2012-13 2011-12 2012-13

Total 172 (12) 152 (10) 13599566 15360464 100.00 100.00 - -

Up to 1000 62 (4) 39 (2) 10613 6076 0.08 0.04 0.08 0.04
1001 - 3000 17 (2) 12 (1) 30931 25223 0.23 0.16 0.31 0.20
3001 - 5000 7 (1) 5 (1) 31091 23882 0.23 0.15 0.54 0.35
5001 - 10000 13 16 (2) 94274 128767 0.69 0.84 1.23 1.19
10001 - 25000 19 (2) 22 (2) 342565 375827 2.52 2.45 3.75 3.64
25001 - 50000 14 (2) 11 (2) 628822 545145 4.62 3.55 8.37 7.19
50001 and above 40 (1) 47 12461270 14255544 91.63 92.81 100.00 100.00

Figures in parentheses indicate number of associated mines.

Table 7 (A) : Mine-head Stocks of Bauxite at the Beginning of the Year 2012-13
(By States & Grades)
(Qty in tonnes)

Stocks by Grades : Al2O3 Content For use other than alumina & aluminium
for use in alumina & aluminium metal metal extraction
State extraction

55- 50- 45- 40- Below Cement Abrasive Refractory Chemical Others Total
60% 55% 50% 45% 40%

India - - 2034 146268 1157637 305912 5961795 24626 32813 357123 7988208

Chhattisgarh - - - 602 14477 - - 112 4275 - 19466

Goa - - - - - - 11503 - - - 11503

Gujarat - - 866 89999 868555 57177 5906288 22762 20429 353272 7319348

Jharkhand - - - 2464 12597 2543 - - - - 17604

Karnataka - - - - 19296 9072 - - - - 28368

Madhya Pradesh - - - 935 23139 75814 14150 - 8109 3851 125998

Maharashtra - - 1168 40264 200659 115039 18281 - - - 375411

Odisha - - - 12004 18914 32030 - - - - 62948

Tamil Nadu - - - - - 14237 11573 1752 - - 27562

4-8
 BAUXITE
Table 7 (B) : Mine-head Stocks of Bauxite at the End of the Year 2012-13(P)
(By States & Grades)
(In tonnes)

Stocks by Grades : Al2O3 Content For use other than alumina & aluminium
for use in alumina & aluminium metal metal extraction
State extraction

60% & 55- 50- 45- 40- Below Cement Abrasive Refractory Chemical Total
above 60% 55% 50% 45% 40%

India - 1 6928 542820 1141683 231041 4622597 11540 50577 295166 6902353
Chhattisgarh - - - 421 46 - - 95 - - 562
Goa - - - - - - 10299 - - - 10299
Gujarat - 1 1095 494653 791688 400 4547045 9797 50462 284543 6179684
Jharkhand - - - 502 9836 10292 - - - - 20630
Karnataka - - - - 19296 - 11285 - - - 30581
Madhya Pradesh - - - 1362 155098 129418 23047 - 115 10623 319663
Maharashtra - - 5833 32802 144279 64372 19244 - - - 266530
Odisha - - - 13080 21440 26559 - - - - 61079
Tamil Nadu - - - - - - 11677 1648 - - 13325

MINING & TRANSPORT Mechanised Mines

The mining of bauxite is carried out by opencast
method. The mines are classified in the following three
categories depending upon the level of mechanisation:
(i) Manually operated mines
(ii) Semi-mechanised mines
(iii) Mechanised mines
Manually operated Mines
Many bauxite mines are small and produce less
than 25,000 tpy. The entire work of overburden
removal, extraction of bauxite and loading of bauxite
in trucks is carried out manually and the bauxite is
transported to respective railway siding or plants by
road.
Semi-mechanised Mines
In semi-mechanised mines, mining operations
are carried out by jack hammer drilling and
normally ANFO mixture is used as an explosive
for blasting in mineralised zone as well as in
overburden, if required. Loading of mineral in
trucks or dumpers is done by payloaders or
manually. Since bauxite occurs as small lenses or
pockets or boulders or as segregations in murrum
and laterite, it is difficult to mechanise the mining
operations.
4-9
Mechanised mining operations are carried
out in a few captive mines of the alumina/aluminium
plants. These mines use compressed-air
drills for drilling blastholes. Sometimes, compressed-
air jack hammer drills are also used
for drilling blastholes for secondary blasting of
boulders and also for toe drilling in irregular bauxite
faces caused due to improper fragmentation
of bauxite. The blasted overburden/ore materials
are handled and transported separately by using
shovels or excavators and trucks/dumpers. Separate
benches are maintained for the overburden and
ores. The height of benches in ore varies from 1.5 to
7.5 m. Hindalco has done away with drilling and
blasting at its Durgmanwadi mines in Maharashtra
by using state-of-the-art ripper dozer which
is regarded as "Miner's Plough". A ripper dozer
silently ploughs the mine surface to extract the
mineral. It has totally eliminated ground vibrations
and air pollution normally caused by dust, gases and
noise.
In Bagru Hill mines of Hindalco in Jharkhand,
the blasted bauxite is transported with the help
of dumpers to the crusher. The 4-inch crushed
bauxite is then transported to Lohardaga railway
station by a monocable aerial ropeway.
 BAUXITE
BALCO also has monocable ropeway for industries are provided in a separate review named
transporting bauxite from its captive mines to the 'Aluminium and Alumina'.
alumina plant at Korba in Chhattisgarh.
Computerised mine planning, use of mobile Table 8 : Consumption of Bauxite*
crusher, simultaneous land reclamation, restricting 2010-11 to 2012-13
(By Industries)
operations to small portions of mining area at a (In tonnes)
time, etc. have greatly helped in conserving energy
and faster land rehabilitation. Industry 2010-11 2011-12((R) 2012-13(P)

In Odisha, NALCO has adopted the mechanised All Industries 10622600 10367400 11019200
'Trench method' of opencast mining at Panchpatmali Abrasives 3200(3) 3400(3) 3400(3)
mine. In this method, a pilot trench is driven through Alumina 1/ 9391900(4) 9047400(4) 9744400(4)
the middle of the deposit and several other trenches Cement 1082000(32) 1040600(33) 992700(34)
are opened on both the sides in a staggered pattern Ceramic 1300(3) 1200(3) 1200(3)
exposing and creating more number of working faces. Chemical 5900(3) 5900(3) 5900(3)
The fertile top soil is preserved by dozing aside and Ferro-alloys 10200(7) 11300(7) 11200(7)
hard laterite of 3 m thickness is drilled and blasted. Fertilizer 18200(2) - -
The overburden is removed using higher capacity Iron & steel 1200(6) 1200(6) 1200(6)
mobile equipment like dumpers and wheel loaders to Refractory 2/ 108700(53) 256400(53) 259200(53)
expose the bauxite bed.
Figures rounded off.
The top slice of bauxite having 810 m thickness Figures in parentheses denote the number of units in organised
sector reporting* consumption.
is loosened by drilling and blasting and the bauxite of (*Includes actual reported consumption and/or estimates made
3-4 m thickness at the bottom contact is removed wherever required). Excludes industrial end-use consumption
of laterite which was 37,35,200 tonnes, 38,92,400 tonnes and
selectively using backhoe shovels. The mine has 40,24,274 tonnes during 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13
achieved overall capacity of 6.3 million tonnes per year respectively.
1/ Includes about 9,726 thousand tonnes, 9,925 thousand tonnes
bauxite after expansion. Accordingly, higher capacity and 10,322 thousand tonnes bauxite equivalent of alumina
mobile equipment like dumpers, wheel loaders, ripper estimated to have been consumed in the production of aluminium
metal in 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13, respectively.
dozers and faster drills have been introduced. NALCO 2/ Includes consumption of calcined bauxite.
has plans in place to further increase bauxite mining
capacity to 6.825 million tonnes per year.
Table 9 : Domestic Sources of Supplies of
CONSUMPTION Bauxite to Alumina Plants
In 2012-13, consumption of bauxite was 11.02
Producer Plant Source of supply
million tonnes as compared to 10.37 million tonnes in
the previous year. Alumina/aluminium Industry was the NALCO Damanjodi, Captive mines at Panchpatmali
Koraput (Odisha) Hills, Koraput dist, Odisha.
principal consumer of bauxite and accounted for 88%
consumption in 2012-13 followed by Cement (9%) and BALCO Korba Captive mines in Surguja &
Refractory (2%) (Table-8). (Chhattisgarh) Bodai-Daldali in Kabirdham
(Kawardha) dist. Chhattisgarh.
Gujarat was the main supplier of abrasive and
refractory grade bauxite. Alumina plants draw supplies Hindalco Renukoot Captive mines in Shahdol dist.,
Industries (Uttar Pradesh) Madhya Pradesh; Gumla &
mostly from their captive mines. Hindalco sources Lohardaga dist., Jharkhand and
bauxite from other suppliers too (Table - 9). Surguja dist. in Chhattisgarh. Also
other suppliers include suppliers
from Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and
USES & SPECIFICATIONS Jharkhand; Katni Bauxite Pvt. Ltd,
Satna, Laxmidasji Ramji, Katni;
Bauxite is primarily used to produce alumina and Minerals & Minerals Corp.,
through the Bayer process. Aluminium Industry Gujarat.
normally uses bauxite containing minimum 38% Belgaum Captive mines in Chandgad &
Al 2O 3. However, slightly inferior grades with a (Karnataka), Durgmanwadi, Kolhapur dist.
suitable blend are also used, depending upon Muri, Ranchi Maharashtra and Lohardaga
(Jharkhand) dist., Jharkhand.
other characteristics, such as, solubility in caustic
soda and absence of silica. The IS : 5953-1985 Vedanta Lanjigarh GMDC, Gujarat, Ashapura
(Reaffirmed 2008) specifications for metallurgical Aluminium (Odisha) Minechem, Maharashtra,
BALCO, Chhattisgarh.
grade bauxite are listed in Table-10. Details of the

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 BAUXITE
Table 10 : Specifications for Metallurgical The IS specifications of bauxite for
Grade Bauxite consumption in chemical and petroleum industries
(IS : 5953-1985; Reaffirmed 2008) are given in Table-12.
( In % by weight)

Gr. I Gr. II *
Table 12 : IS Specifications of Bauxite for
(essentially gibbsite (mixture of Chemical and Petroleum Industries
or trihydrate) gibbsite, boehmite (IS : 3605-1984; Reaffirmed 2010)
Constituent and diaspore or
trihydrate & Constituent Requirement
monohydrate)

Total Al2O3 (min.) 40 47 Alumina (as Al2O3), % by mass (min.) 58.0

Total available alumina (min.) 36 43 Silica (as SiO2), % by mass (max.) 3.0
Total SiO2 (max.) 4 4 Iron oxide (as Fe2O3), % by mass (max.) 2.0
Module Al2O3/SiO2 (min.) 12 12 Titania (as TiO2), % by mass (max.) 4.0
Fe2O3 /TiO2 (max.) 30 30 Phosphorus pentoxide (as P2O5 ), % by mass (max.) 0.3
P2 O5 (max.) 0.20 0.20 Manganese dioxide (as MnO2), % by mass (max.) 0.1
V2O5 (max.) 0.20 0.20 Calcium and magnesium (as CaO), % by mass (max.) 2.0
Loss on ignition at 1100 oC 20 20 Loss on ignition, % by mass (max.) 32.0

* Normally,1 to 20% diaspore and 5 to 7% boehmite. Apart from the chemical specifications, the
In Steel Industry, bauxite is used as a slag physical requirements are that the material passing
corrector in place of fluorite and generally bauxite, through 90-micron IS sieve but retained on 212-micron
containing 45 to 54% Al2O3 and 5% SiO2 (max.) is IS sieve should be 90% maximum; that passing through
consumed. Size preference is 25 to 125 mm with a 300-micron IS sieve shall be 1% by mass maximum; and
tolerance of 5% (max.) for -25 mm and +100 mm that passing through 212- micron IS sieve but retained
fractions. on 300-micron IS sieve should be 10% maximum.
BIS has prescribed the following specifications The other specifications laid down by BIS are
for bauxite in Refractory Industry (Table-11): IS:8228-1976 (Reaffirmed 2008) for bauxite sand
and IS:8988-1978 (Reaffirmed 2008) for bauxite
Table 11 : IS Specifications of Bauxite for powder for foundry washes.
Refractory Industry
(IS : 10817-1984: Reaffirmed 2008) SUBSTITUTION
There is no substitute for bauxite in aluminium
Constituent Percent
metal extraction carried out on a large scale.
Al 2 O 3 58 min. However, calcined clay can be substituted for
Fe 2 O 3 3 max.
refractory bauxite but only with reduction in length
of time and stock resistance. Sillimanite, alumina,
TiO2 3 max.
silicon carbide, magnesite-chromite and carbon-
CaO 0.5 to 0.6
magnesite refractories are the other alternatives
LOI 27 to 30 for high-alumina material but these would entail
higher cost. Silicon carbide and diamonds can
The refractory manufacturers use bauxite of substitute for fused aluminium oxide in abrasive
the following specifications: use but these would entail again at higher cost.
Specifications of Bauxite used by Synthetic mullite is a probable substitute for
Refractory Industry bauxite-based refractories. Silicon carbide and
alumina- zirconia are costlier substitutes for
Constituent Percent bauxite-based abrasives. The raw material like
Al 2 O 3 55-60
alunite, anorthosite, coal wastes and oil shales
are other potential sources of alumina. The
Fe 2 O 3 4-6
extraction, however, would require new plants
TiO2 5-8
with different technology. These non-bauxitic
SiO2 2
materials could satisfy the demand for primary
Others 25-40
metal, refactories, aluminium chemicals and
PCE 33-36 (Ortan)
abrasives.

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 BAUXITE

TRADE POLICY of capacity to recover 40 tonnes/year of gallium from

As per the Foreign Trade Policy for
2009-2014 and policy on export and import, imports of
aluminium ores and concentrates including natural
bauxite, whether calcined or not, and others are
permitted freely. There are no policy restrictions on the
export of bauxite.
the refinery has also been initiated. Operationalisation
of bauxite mine with capacity of 2 million tonnes/year
to supply bauxite to alumina refinery (China Power
Investment Corp) in Wuzhengdo, Guizhou Province was
in progress. Chinalco completed construction of a 1.6
million tonnes/year capacity bauxite mine in Hauxing,
Shanxi Province.

WORLD REVIEW Guinea

The world bauxite reserves are estimated at 28
billion tonnes and are located mainly in Guinea (26%),
Australia (21%), Brazil (9%), Vietnam (8%), Jamaica
(7%), Indonesia (4%) and Guyana & China (3% each).
Countrywise reserves of bauxite are given in
Table - 13.
The world production of bauxite was estimated at
248 million tonnes in 2012. Australia continued to be
the major producer and accounted for about 31% share
in total production, followed by China (16%), Brazil
(14%), Indonesia (12%), Guinea (7%) and India (6% )
(Table -14).
Table 13 : World Reserves of Bauxite
(By Principal Countries)
(In '000 tonnes)
Production from Friguia mine was temporarily
stopped due to strike. Production from Sangaredi mine,
a joint venture among the Government (49%), Alcoa
Inc (22.95%), Rio Tinto (22.95%) and Dadco group
(5.1%), was at optimum capacity. Kindia mine of RUSAL
has increased production capacity to 3.8 million tonnes
from 3.2 million tonnes per year.
Guyana
RUSAL's Kwakwani mine having capacity of 2.2
million tonnes per year reported higher production in
2012.
Production at Bosai's Linden mine was temporarily
shut down due to violent protest by local resident. This
mine with capacity of 1.5 lakh tonnes/year of calcined
refractory grade bauxite is the main source of refractory-
grade bauxite outside of China.

Country Reserves India

NALCO completed expansion of its refinery to 2.28
World : Total (rounded) 28,000,000 million tonnes/year and was in the process of increasing
Australia 6,000,000 its mine capacity to 6.8 million tonnes/year by the end
Brazil 2,600,000 of 2013. Hindalco Industries Ltd continued
China 830,000 construction of its 1.5 million tonnes/year Utkal alumina
Greece 600,000 refinery and adjacent bauxite mine of capacity 3 million
Guinea 7,400,000 tonnes per year.
Guyana 850,000
India* 540,000 Indonesia
Indonesia 1,000,000 Government of Indonesia instituted a 20% tax on
Jamaica 2,000,000 export of unprocessed minerals/ores as part of a new
Kazakhstan 160,000 law to reduce export of unprocessed minerals/ores. In
Russia 200,000 response to this new policy, several companies are
Sierra Leone 180,000 contemplating construction of alumina refinery in
Suriname 580,000 Indonesia.
USA 20,000
Venezuela 320,000
FOREIGN TRADE
Vietnam 2,100,000
Other countries 2,400,000
Exports
Exports of bauxite increased substantially to 3,410
Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2014. thousand tonnes in 2012-13 from 401 thousand tonnes
* India's total resources of bauxite as per UNFC system in 2011-12. Exports were mainly to China (91%), Kuwait
are placed at 3.48 billion tonnes as on 1.4.2010. (3%) and Qatar (2%) (Table - 15).

China Imports
Chinalco has initialised the expansion activity of In 2012-13, imports of bauxite decreased
its bauxite mine capacity to 1 million tonnes per year marginally to 66,742 tonnes from 78,980 tonnes in the
for supply of bauxite to its alumina refinery in previous year. Imports were mostly from China
Pingguoto, Guangxi Province. Additionally, installation (Table - 16).
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 BAUXITE
Table 14 : World Production of Bauxite, 2010 to 2012
(By Principal Countries)
(In '000 tonnes)

Country 2010 2011 2012

World: Total 227000 248000 248000

Australia 68535 70232 76282

Brazil 32028 33625 34956

China 36837 37174 40000

Greece 1902 2324 1816

Guinea 16427 17593 17400

Guyana 1083 1818 2214

India* 12723 12877 15195

e
Indonesia 27000 41000 30000

Jamaica 8540 10189 9339

Kazakhstan 5310 5495 5170

Russia 5035 5380 5166

Suriname 3097 3236 2905

Venezuela 3126 2455 2500

Other countries 5357 4602 5057

Source: World Mineral Production, 2008-2012.

* India's production of bauxite during 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 was 12,723 thousand tonnes, 13,600 thousand
tonnes and 15,360 thousand tonnes, respectively.

Table 15 : Exports of Bauxite Table 16 : Imports of Bauxite

(By Countries) (By Countries)

2011-12 2012-13 2011-12 2012-13

Country Country
Qty Value Qty Value Qty Value Qty Value
(t) (` '000) (t) (` '000) (t) (` '000) (t) (` '000)

All Countries 401027 922326 3409998 6245777 All Countries 78980 1603329 66742 1494744

China 285140 480925 3116189 5086813 China 77207 1568839 64845 1398294

Qatar - - 82054 220903 Brazil - - 724 67375

Kuwait 43879 122252 96046 220615 South Africa - - 377 10217

Slovenia 9472 95273 22638 178427 Germany 20 477 200 4612

Oman 32340 55502 15003 125083 Singapore - - 125 3053

Saudi Arabia 5255 48548 7069 75319 Netherlands 205 7499 72 2956

Japan 675 14507 1900 42736 Saudi Arabia - - 100 2421

UAE 496 7744 20234 42623 Sri Lanka - - 50 1216

France 440 10332 1725 39176 USA 395 8914 41 1177

Unspecified - - 29000 55064 UAE - - 50 1111

Other countries 23330 87243 18140 159018 Other countries 1153 17600 158 2312

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 BAUXITE
FUTURE OUTLOOK
India has large resources of bauxite. The
resources of metallurgical grade bauxite are quite
adequate while those of the chemical and
refractory grade bauxite are relatively limited
considering the future requirements. As per the
Report of the Working Group for the 12 th Five Year
Plan, the abundance of bauxite resources in
4-14
Eastern Ghat regions of Odisha and Andhra
Pradesh is likely to metamorphose the region
i nto a hub for bauxite mining activities in future.
The Working Group has recommended that large
deposits of these areas can be reserved for the
greenfield alumina refineries and these further
could double as additional bauxite resources for
the brownfield expansion of the existing alumina
refineries.