Visakhapatnam | Nov 24, 2016: Geo-scientists and researchers of Andhra University have studied the environmental implications of open cast bauxite mining in the Agency area and came up with suggestions for eco-friendly ways of doing it.
Andhra Pradesh has the second highest reserves of bauxite in the country.
A recent study, titled 'Bauxite mining in Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, Possible Environmental Implications and Measures for Environmentally Friendly Mining,' was done by researchers Ch Hanuman Prasad, Mustafa Mohammad and Asif Iqbal Kakkassery under the guidance of professor M Jagannadha Rao of the department of geology at AU.
Bauxite is a naturally occurring, heterogeneous material composed primarily of one or more aluminium hydroxide minerals, besides various mixtures of silica, iron oxide, titania, aluminium silicates and other impurities in trace amount. In the Eastern Ghats, the bauxite deposits are associated with khondalite and charnockite group of rocks. Reserves of 750-1000 million tonnes of metal grade bauxite are said to exist in the forest and tribal tracts of Visakhapatnam, East Godavari and Vizianagaram districts in the Eastern Ghats ranges. AP's contribution to the country's bauxite is about 20%.
The recent policy of the state government to open up bauxite mining in the Eastern Ghats terrain has triggered a controversy as the local tribal population and certain NGOs have opposed it with the apprehension that it will have an adverse impact on the environment, including pollution of water bodies and soil, and deforestation affecting rare flora and fauna. The mining activity can also adversely affect the culture of the native tribes, their resources and lifestyle, it was felt.
Recently, the Hyderabad High Court had directed the state of AP to explain its stand on a petition that charged the state with going ahead with its plan to extract bauxite in 1,212 hectares of land in the Visakhapatnam agency areas, particularly from the Narsipatnam forest division. The petition said the state was not following the norms laid down under the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
"In this context, the study attempts to present the possible impacts of active mining initiatives of bauxite in the region. It further examined people's apprehensions related to impact on the environment and tribal socio-economic and cultural implications. Possible remedial measures include environment-friendly mining of the resources with minimum impact on the environment including the sensitive forest cover, land, water and tribal culture," stated Mustafa Mohammad, one of the researchers.
"Government bodies like AP Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) should keep a strict check on private companies who intend to set up aluminium plants. A significant percentage of profits should be charged from the companies as environmental cess and should be kept available to an authorised autonomous committee to take up environmental restoration on a continuous basis. The committee should be headed by responsible non-governmental officials and manned by environmentalists, NGOs and people's representatives. A baseline environment data surrounding the sites is required to check the biodiversity - flora and fauna, surface and ground water and soil around the region," Prof Jagannadha Rao said.
In open cast bauxite mining, a lot of waste material is generated or dumped to access the actual ore. The resultant soil erosion results in difficulty for the vegetation to re-establish itself, especially if the removed soil is not replaced soon after finishing the mining operation.
"Land-reclamation is needed by putting the soil back in place and with plantation cover on the re-claimed land to maintain the biodiversity and ecosystem. The loss of top soil cover should be minimised by scrapping the upper layer in a manner that it can be laid elsewhere as a uniform layer. Replacement of the top soil on the earlier dumped over burden is also required. Since open cast mining causes development of hollows in the earth, a proper planning of mining activity by dumping of the overburden in the excavated portions of mines would help reclaim the land earlier used for exploitation," added Prof Rao.
Also, bauxite residue (red mud mixed with caustic soda) may pose a threat to the environment and also needs huge acreage of lands to maintain red mud ponds in the mining and processing vicinity. Using technological advancement, the red earth can be successfully and safely recycled and used in cement industries, suggested researchers.
(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)