Brownfield Exploration within the Mining Lease Area Held by GMDC in Bauxite Mines, Kachchh

The GMDC has ten operational bauxite mines around Gadhsisa in the Kachchh region. Bauxite mines are supplying plant-grade (PG) and non-plant-grade (NPG) ore to various industries. The bottom of these mines has not been explored for other mineral content. Considering this idea, three mines, namely Nana Goniyasar, Wandh 1, and Wandh 2, have been investigated in the G4 category for the presence of any economic/industrial mineral.

Project Details

PHASE-I : (Under progress)
    • Reconnoitory core drilling of 400 m to touch the basement basalt in Nana-Goniyasar, Wandh-1 and Wandh-2 mines.
    • Reconnoitory core drilling of 200 m in Roha Kotda, Nandra-Naredi, and Naredi mines, considering the encouraging results from 400 m drilling.
    • Surface and subsurface (600 m core length) sampling for identification of bentonite and associated critical minerals.
    • Physical, chemical and mineralogical analysis of bentonite and bauxite horizons for grade classification.
  • Outcome
    • Establishment of bentonite horizon beneath bauxite as an additional mineral resource.
    • Identification of critical minerals of Gallium, Vanadium, Titanium and Rare Earth Elements in bauxite/ bentonite.
    • Proposal for core drilling to establish bentonite and other critical minerals in the G1/G2 stage in the existing mines of the Gadhsisa area.
PHASE-II
    • Exploratory drilling of 4000 m in a 200×100 m grid pattern in 40 to 50 boreholes, about 50m depth in Nana-Goniyasar, Wandh-1 and Wandh-2 mines.
    • Systematic sampling of the bentonite and bauxite zones at a 1m interval.
    • Physical, chemical and mineralogical analysis of bentonite and bauxite horizons.
  • Outcome
    • Delineation of bentonite horizons, grade classification and reserve estimation.
    • Value addition by bentonite and other critical minerals.
    • Proposal for preparation of mining plan for bentonite in the existing leasehold areas of Nana-Goniyasar, Wandh-1 and Wandh-2 bauxite mines.
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