Rampura Agucha
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Hindustan Zinc Limited |
Rampura Agucha is a
History
Rampura Agucha deposits were discovered in August 1977 by T. C. Rampuria, a geologist with the
Geology
Rampura Agucha is a zinc-lead sulfide deposit that is located in the Sikar belt which is part of the Aravalli-Delhi orogen.[4][5] The Bhilwara belt is mostly metasedimentary, metamorphosed dolomite and a small amount of igneous rocks.[5][6] The deposit was originally a sedimentary exhalative deposit before experiencing a metamorphic event.[2] The high grade metamorphic event is theorized to have occurred approximately 1 billion years ago.[4][6] There are a few sulphides and oxide minerals that form within the ore that are a particular interest, the major one being sphalerite. Galena, pyrite, pyrrhotite, and marcasite commonly occur with the sphalerite along with some minor arsenopyrite and chalcopyrite.[6] Gahnite and rutile are the most common oxide minerals that form within the ore, with rutile being the most abundant.[6] Graphite is also a mineral that is commonly found within the ore and surrounding rock.[6]
Processing
Extracted
Byproducts
The process of retrieving the ore from the parent material results in a heterogeneous slurry of materials, such as water, rock, and others, called
Environmental effects
There are several different forms of air
The location of the mine has minimal surrounding water reserves for use in the mining process.[8] All well water used is located at the Banas River bed 60 km (37 mi) away from the mine, which makes a pipeline required to obtain the necessary water for mining.[7] Drains and a 50,000 cubic meter reservoir structure were implemented to collect any used run-off water during the mining process.[8] Water is also retrieved from the tailings due to the extensive amount of water used during the processing of the extracted material.[7] Retrieval of tailings water is achieved through flocculent additions in tailings thickeners to separate water from the waste material.[7] The reclaimed water is then treated and used in all mining practices as a replacement for fresh water use when possible.[7] Water conservation management of this extent resulted in a zero discharge status of contaminated water, which has reportedly resulted in no groundwater pollution in the surrounding mine site.[8] The input of these practices has also shown a decrease in freshwater usage for the mine from 1.36 cubic meters per tonne of metal in 2003 to only 0.66 cubic meters per tonne in 2006.[7]
Recovery of metals
Efforts have also been made to retrieve low grade zinc and lead found in tailings through bioleaching.[7] Minimal results have been shown through this method. Although, HZL research teams have been attempting to retrieve zinc from these tailings through microwave irradiation.[10] It was concluded that this method showed a greater than 90% extraction of zinc found in tailings.[10] This is a much higher recovery of zinc compared to more traditional methods such as bioleaching and conventional heating.[10] This also provides a viable economic retrieval method to be used for the Rampura Agucha mines tailings for zinc.[10]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Hindustan Zinc Limited - Operations". Hzlindia.com. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2011. (click on "mines" information)
- ^ S2CID 129664597.
- ISBN 9780849330803.
- ^ .
- ^ .
- ^ S2CID 131667407.
- ^ ISBN 978-81-7993-118-9.
- ^ ISBN 1-56670-365-4.
- ^ "Hindustan Zinc Limited Rampura Agucha Mine P.O.- Agucha – 311029 Distt.- Bhilwara (Rajasthan) Form- 1 For Expansion Of Mine and Beneficiation Plant" (PDF). environmentclearance.nic.in. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
- ^ .