Vijayawada: Owing to the diminution of Barytes reserves in the Mangampet mines and the frequent fluctuations in Barytes prices in the international market, the AP Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) has begun exploring other options to increase revenues. The corporation participated in the submission of coal tenders for projects in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

As of now, the projects in both states are in the area identification stage. Later in the course of the projects, the mines will be handed over to the Mi-neral Development Ope-rator (MDO), a national-level agency, which in turn will give them to the APMDC. The APMDC has also rented 3,000 acres of land in Srikakulam district, to mine beach sand. The APMDC has been allotted the Madanpur South Coal Block and the Suliyari Coal Block under the provisions of the Coal Mines (Special Provis-ions) Act, 2015.

The state has identified Srikakulam district for the mining of minerals. The beach sands contain minerals such as Ilmenite, Rutile, Zircon, Garnet, and Monazite. In 2015, the APMDC had called for a global expression of interest for the set-up of an integrated project for the development of heavy mineral beach sands as a joint venture. As per the guidelines, the corporation must hold a 75 per cent equity stake in the development process, but the private partner may hold a majority stake in the mineral separation and value addition processes.

Ilmenite is an important ore used in the production of titanium dioxide pigment, titanium sponge, titanium chloride and titanium metal. B. Sreedhar, the secretary and director of mines and geology, says that these value-added products are used extensively in industries. An officer of the mining department says that the demand for Mangampet Barytes has been on the decline for some time. “Our government fixes the price in advance, during the tendering process itself, which affects the trade in international markets,” he says. He added that the state government should consider introducing some flexibility in the pricing system.