India 2018

Industry 369
tonnes (29 per cent), Chhattisgarh 0.55 million tonnes (3 per cent) and
Maharashtra 0.39 million tonnes (2 per cent). Gradewise, the resources are
classified into marketable grade which accounted for 81 per cent of the total
resources, followed by low grade (17 per cent) and unclassified grade (2 per
cent).
Gypsum
As per UNFC system, the total resources of mineral gypsum in India in 2015
are estimated at 1,330 million tonnes of which 37 million tonnes have been
placed under 'reserves' and 1,293 million tonnes under 'remaining resources'
category. Of the total resources, fertilizer/pottery grade accounts for about 80
per cent and cement/paint grade 13 per cent. The unclassified and not-known
grades together account for 5 per cent resources. The remaining two percent of
resources is shared by surgical plaster and soil reclamation grades. By States,
Rajasthan alone accounts for 81 per cent resources and Jammu & Kashmir 14
per cent resources. The remaining 5 per cent resources are in Tamil Nadu,
Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and
Madhya Pradesh.
Graphite
Graphite occurrences are reported from various states but the deposits of
economic importance are located in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka,
Kerala, Odisha, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. As per the UNFC system, the total
resources of graphite in 2015 are placed at about 194.89 million tonnes,
comprising 7.96 million tonnes in the reserves category and 186.93 million tonnes
under remaining resources category. Arunachal Pradesh accounts for 37 per
cent of total resources, followed by Jammu and Kashmir (32 per cent), Odisha
(10 per cent), Jharkhand (9 per cent) and Tamil Nadu (4 per cent). However, in
terms of reserves, Jharkhand has leading share of about 52 per cent followed by
Tamil Nadu 41per cent.
Ilmenite
Ilmenite and rutile along with other heavy minerals are important constituents
of beach sand deposits found right from Ratnagiri coast (Maharashtra) in the
west to Odisha coast in the east. These minerals are concentrated in Kerala,
Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. As per the UNFC system, the total
resources of ilmenite in 2015 are estimated at 355.48 million tonnes (including
leucoxene), inclusive of indicated, inferred and speculative categories.
Kaolin
China clay resources in the country as per UNFC system in 2015 have been
placed at 2,941.25 million tonnes. The reserves constitute only about 8 per cent
of the resources at 229.47 million tonnes. The resources are spread over in a
number of states of which Kerala holds about 23 per cent, followed by West
Bengal 14 per cent, Rajasthan 18 per cent, Odisha 10 per cent and Karnataka 9
per cent. Out of total resources, about 26 per cent or 771 million tonnes fall
under ceramic/pottery grade, 4 per cent are classified under chemical, paper