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Why India 5th Largest bentonite Production

Bentonite is essentially a highly plastic clay containing not less than 85% clay mineral, montmorillonite. It gets its name from the place where its presence and usages were first discovered – Fort Benton, America. Bentonite’s commercial importance is due to its inherent bleaching properties similar to that of fuller’s earth, hence, it is also known as bleaching clay. There are two types of bentonites, namely, swelling-type or sodium bentonite and non- swelling-type or calcium bentonite

RESOURCES

The total resources of bentonite in the country as per UNFC system as on 1.4.2010 are about 568 million tonnes out of which 25 million tonnes are categorised as reserves. The bulk of the resources, i.e. 424 million tonnes (75%) are in Rajasthan, 134 million tonnes (24%) in Gujarat and the remaining in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir.

PRODUCTION

The value of bentonite produced in India in 2013-14 at L82 crore decreased by about 10% as compared to the previous year.

MINING & PROCESSING

Bentonite is exploited mainly from manual mines. The bentonite deposit is very close to the surface and mined to a depth of 25 metres. A few mine owners in Kachchh and Bhavnagar districts of Gujarat.

WORLD REVIEW

The global production of bentonite in 2014 was around 16.2 million tonnes. The USA was the largest producer with an estimated output of around 4.66 million tonnes followed by China with 3.5 million tonnes. Other major producers were India, Greece, Mexico, Turkey, Iran, Russia, Brazil, Japan and Germany.

During the year under review Gujarat contributed 97% to the total value of production of bentonite while remaining 3% was accounted by Rajasthan.

skc July 13, 2019 0 Comments

Salt

Kutch the Destination of salt Industry

Kutch region has an impression of being a distinctive land. It is a region that differs in celebrating prosperity on an exceptional parameter. Divided into two sub-regions, Great Rann of Kutch and Little Rann of Kutch.

The Rann of Kutch is a seasonal salt marsh located in the Thar desert in Gujarat. Situated about 130 km from Ahmedabad.

During the monsoon months, the Rann of Kutch is submerged in sea water. As the sea water finally begins to recede in October, the Agariyas move in and begin the elaborate process of salt farming. First, they dig wells to pump out highly saline groundwater from the lake of brine that lies 40 feet below the crust.

The salt of Kutch ten times saltier than sea water, this lake of brine is what keeps the economy of the area afloat.

INDIAN SALT INDUSTRY IS GOING GLOBAL: AN OVERVIEW

India ranks third in the production of salt in the world next to USA and China. The Average annual production is about 20.31 million tones against the average annual world production of 240-250 million tones. Worldwide about 25 million tones of salt are used for edible purposes and rest is used for non-edible and industrial purpose.

Out of the estimated total annual production of India of about 28 million tons, 63% comes from Kutch.