Project On Sikkim
Project On Sikkim
METALS AND
NON-METALS FOUND
IN SIKKIM
THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA (GSI) HAS COMPLETED
SYSTEMATIC GEOLOGICAL MAPPING OF 90 % OF ACCESSIBLE LAND
ON 1:50000 SCALE AND CARRIED OUT MINERAL EXPLORATION
MOSTLY AROUND PARTS OF SOUTH, WEST AND EAST SIKKIM. THE
STATE DEPARTMENT OF MINES, MINERALS AND GEOLOGY HAS BEEN
WORKING ON SITE SPECIFIC GEOLOGICAL & GEO - TECHNICAL STUDY,
ON A PRIORITIZED BASIS, BOTH THE AGENCIES HAVE FOUND LARGE
DEPOSITS OF LOW VALUE - HIGH BULK MINERALS BESIDES BASE
METAL OCCURRENCES MOSTLY WITHIN THE DALING GROUP OF
ROCKS CALLED GORUBATHAN FORMATION. THE ACTIVITIES OF THE
GSI AND THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND GEOLOGY ARE
REVIEWED PERIODICALLY AND MONITORED DURING CENTRAL
GEOLOGICAL AND STATE GEOLOGICAL BOARD MEETINGS. DESPITE
EFFORTS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF MINES, MIERALS & GEOLOGY,
GOVERNMENT OF SIKKIM AND THE GSI, LARGE AREAS OF THE STATE
REMAINS UNEXPLORED. HOWEVER, OCCURRENCE OF THE
MINERALS FOUND
FOLLOWING MINERALS HAVE BEEN STUDIED IN
SIKKIM
COAL: THERE ARE NO COAL FIELDS AS SUCH IN SIKKIM, HOWEVER
COAL OCCURRENCES ARE WIDESPREAD IN THE SO CALLED '
RANGIT TECTONIC WINDOW' ZONE. DETAILED STUDIES BY G.S.I.
AROUND NAMCHI, SOUTH SIKKIM, ESTABLISHED A RESERVE OF
1.40 LAKH TONNES OF COAL. THE STATE DMG CARRIED ON
FURTHER STUDIES ON COAL & PROMISING AREAS HAVE BEEN
IDENTIFIED. COAL RESERVE OF NEARLY 70,000 TONNES AT RESHI (
SOUTH SIKKIM) HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED AND COAL SAMPLES
FROM THE AREA WAS ANALYZED AT THE CMPDIL, RANCHI FOR
TEST DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION IN THE FORM OF CO - CAKES/
COAL BRIQUETTES. THE INSTITUTE DEVELOPED HONEY - COMB
COAL BRIQUETTES USING 75 % SIKKIM COAL PLUS OTHER HIGH
VOLATILE COAL FROM ELSEWHERE AND OXIDANTS / ADDITIVES.
THE THERMAL YIELD OF THE BRIQUETTES SO DEVELOPED COMES
TO 5,2000 K.CAL / KG WHICH IS BETTER THAN THE THERMAL TILED
OF FIREWOOD (3,500 K/CAL/KG). BESIDES SUCH TEST, THE
COAL
DEPARTMENTAL SCIENTISTS DEVELOPED INDIGENOUS HAND MADE
BRIQUETTES SUCCESSFULLY BY BLENDING LOCAL COAL WITH
CLAY, AND ADDITIVES.
QUARTZITE: OCCURENCES OF HIGH GRADE QUARTZITE
WITH OVER 90 % SILICA HAS BEEN FOUND IN PARTS OF
EAST, WEST & SOUTH SIKKIM. THE QUARTZITE OCCURRENCE
AT RANIKHOLA - MANSARI AREA OF WEST SIKKIM WAS
MINED COMMERCIALLY, AND THE MINE IS BEING
CONSIDERED FOR REVIVAL. ESTIMATED MINEABLE RESERVE
OF SOME 70,000 TONNES AT THE AREA LIES UNEXPLOITED.
THE OVERALL CHEMICAL COMPOSITION VARIATION
ACCORDING TO CG & CRI, CALCUTTA IS AS FOLLOWS.
QUARTZITE
TALC: TALC IN SIKKIM HAS BEEN FOUND AS
INTERCALATIONS IN QUARTZITE DEPOSIT OF RANIKHOLA -
MANSARI AREA OF WEST SIKKIM. AS ESTIMATED RESERVE OF
ABOUT 80,000 TONNES OF THE MINERAL LIE IN THE LEASED
AREA OF M/S SIKKIM PVT. LTD. AND SOME MORE ARE BEING
MINED BY RAT HOLE MINING BY VILLAGERS FOR EXPORT TO
SILIGURI. COMPOSITION OF TALC IN THE AREA IS AS
FOLLOWS.
TALC
DOLOMITE & LIMESTONE: SIKKIM
HAS EXTENSIVE DEPOSITS WITH
BANDS OF DOLOMITE LIMESTONE IN
RANGIT VALLEY TECTONIC WINDOW.
EXPLORATORY WORK HAS BEEN DONE
BY G.S.I. AND THE STATE DMG.
SAMPLES FROM THE AREA SHOW THE
FOLLOWING VARIATION OF CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION.
30.88
to
1.76
to
1.32
to
7.88
to
0.97
to
0.13
to
0.04 25.45
to to
DOLOMITE
48.35 5.07 5.42 32.27 1.72 1.04 1.79 88.12
AND
LIMESTONE
MARBLE: SIKKIM IS ENDOWED WITH
SIZEABLE DEPOSITS OF MARBLE AROUND
TSUNGTHANG, TSONGO AND TOLONG.
MUCH ATTENTION WAS PAID TO THIS
MINERAL FOR VIABLE COMMERCIAL
EXPLOITATION. PRESENTLY THE MINERAL
IS BEING TESTED AND STUDIED IN DETAIL
FOR USE AS CUT AND POLISHED SLABS.
THE TEST SAMPLES COMPARE WITH THE
MARBLE SLABS IN THE MARKET. OTHER
MARBLE
POSSIBLE USE OF THIS RESOURCES IS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF CEMENT, CALCIUM
CARBIDE, CHEMICALS ETC.
BASE METAL: AS REGARDS TO PLOY METALLIFEROUS
DEPOSITS IN THE STATE, COPPER- LEAD- ZINC DEPOSIT AT
BHOTANG, RANGPO, HAS BEEN UNDER EXPLOITATION BY
SIKKIM MINING CORPORATION. OTHER BASE METAL DEPOSIT
UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR EXPLOITATION BY THE
GOVERNMENT IS THE DIKCHU COPPER - ZINC PROJECT. THE
TECHNO - FEASIBILITY STUDY OF THE PROJECT WAS DONE BY
THE MINERAL EXPLORATION CORPORATION OF INDIA. THE
TOTAL ORE RESERVE, ACCORDING TO MECL, IS ABOUT 0.45
MILLION TONNES CONTAINING 2.82 % CU AND 0.90 % ZN.
OUT OF THE TOTAL ORE RESERVE, ABOUT 0.30 MILLION
TONNES CONTAINS AN AVERAGE OF 3% CU AND 1 % OF
WHICH FALLS UNDER THE DEVELOPED AND PROVED
CATEGORY. THE INVESTIGATED LODE EXTENDS FOR ABOUT
564 METRES IN LENGTH, 100 METRES IN VERTICAL DEPTH &
1.25 METRES IN THICKNESS. THE TEST CARRIED OUT ON BASE
METAL
BULK SAMPLES OF ORE FROM DIKCHU GAVE 90 - 93 %
RECOVERY COPPER IN THE CONCENTRATE.
GRAPHITE: GRAPHITE IN SIKKIM
OCCURS OVER PARTS OF WEST AND
NORTH DISTRICTS. WORKABLE
OCCURENCES ARE LOCATED AT
CHITRE - DARIELY & DENTAM -
UTTAREY AREA OF WEST SIKKIM. THE
GRAPHITE IS MADE UP OF 40 - 60 %
FIXED CARBON. BENEFICIATION IS
NECESSARY FOR COMMERCIAL
EXPLOITATION. GRAPHITE
SILLIMANITE: INVESTIGATION OF
SILLIMANITE AROUND HEAD WATERS OF
ROATHAK KHOLA SHOW OCCURENCES OF
THE MINERAL IN THE FORM OF BOULDERS
AND IN - SITU LENSOIDAL BODIES. THE
BOULDERS ALONE SHOW A TENTATIVE
RESERVE OF OVER 1000 TONNES.
SAMPLES FROM THE AREA ON ANALYSIS
SHOW MINERAL FALLING WITHIN GRADE
II. REPORTED OCCURENCES OF
SILLIMANITE / KYANITE BEARING SCHIST SILLIMANI
IN THE HIGH GRADE BIOTITE OF CHANGEY TE
KHOLA NEEDS FURTHER STUDIES.
THERMAL SPRINGS: THERE ARE
ATLEAST EIGHT KNOWN THERMAL
SPRINGS IN SIKKIM. OF THEM,
PHURTSACHU, BORONG AND POLOT IN
SOUTH SIKKIM, YUMTHANG, TARUM
AND TOLUNG OF NORTH SIKKIM ARE
WELL KNOWN ONES. THE SPRINGS ARE
BEING MONITORED FROM TIME TO TIME
UNLIKE THE PERENNIAL SOURCE OF
COLD SPRINGS WHICH ARE MONITORED THERMAL
AND WATER TESTED FREQUENTLY.
WATER
Parameters Yumthang Tarum Phurtsachu
Flow Rate 645 Lt / hr 4500 Lt / hr -
Water Temp. 450 C 500 C 450 C
Water Colour Clear Clear Clear
Odour Highly Sulfurous Mildly Sulfurous Highly Sulfurous
Taste Salty, unpleasant Unpleasant Salty,unpleasant
Radio activity Background Background Background
Total Solids 100 mg / lt 100 mg / lt 675 mg / lt
Total alkalinity 140 mg /lt 60 mg / lt -
Acidity - - 256 mg / lt
Total Hardness 8 mg / Lt 20 mg / Lt 252 mg / lt
Ca Hardness 8 mg / Lt 16 mg / Lt 120 mg / lt
Sulphate 37.08 mg / Lt 41.20 mg / Lt 24.7 mg / Lt
Phosphate 0.04 mg / Lt 0.20 mg / Lt 0.20 mg / Lt
pH 7.7 7.4 7.23
Sodium 3 ppm 24 ppm 5 ppm
Potassium 0.5 ppm 0.75 ppm 1.15 ppm
Chloride 17.5 mg / Lt 7.60 mg / Lt 111.39 mg / Lt