Exploration and Drilling

 

 

 

Conventional and unconventional boreholes are drilled by pitting and trenching within the mining leasehold areas. They are drilled on a grid pattern of 200 x 200 meters to locate the ore body. The grid maybe tightened for a detailed assessment and quality control. Bore holes are made to a minimum of 60 meters but if the ore body persists, they will be drilled through the entire thickness. The core of the bore hole is systematically stored in wooden boxes, logged and sampled for every 1.5meters and sent for detailed chemical analysis.

Ripping / Dozing and excavation

 

 

 

The Mining operations are done by the open cast methods. Rippers and Dozers are used to loosen the hard laterite cover which is treated as reject. The loosened reject material is then loaded using hydraulic excavators and transported using tipper trucks to the waste/rejection dump which are maintained outside the mineralized zone. Excavators and trucks are then used to mine the crude ore and transport it to the processing plants. If the ore body is situated below the ground water level, pumps are used to lower the water table.

Focus on the Environment

 

 

The entire mining activity is done in an eco friendly manner in an effort to ensure socioeconomic growth. For example, rain and ground water collected in the mining pit is continuously discharged to a setting pond where it gets purified and overflows into a trench having filter beds. The clean water flows from a trench through a nearby water course. Water is regularly sprayed on the mine roads and also on the rejection dump to suppress dust particles. In addition, air quality, water quality as well as sound levels are continuously monitored all round the year in accordance with statutory norms. The rejection dumps are capped with laterite before the monsoons in order to avoid erosion and contamination of rain water from the dumps.The rejection dumps present a blot on the landscape if left unprotected, washouts are likely to arise in the monsoons posing a pollution hazard to the surrounding areas. In order to offset the ill effects, preventive measures have been resorted to, in order to propagate vegetation. We plant various species of trees, usually the local varieties, which have a high survival rate and take root very quickly. We have also transplant local varieties which are found in the nearby areas such as, cumbio, Sanvor, Billomaoo, marott, Jamun, Bibo, Ambaddo, Kinal, Nanno and cashew.