With the increasing use of barytes in the oil drilling, paints and paper industry, the Rajasthan government, of late, is waking up to raise its production in the state. Rajasthan is next to Andhra Pradesh in the country which has a few good baryte mines.Unlike Andhra Pradesh where the entire mining of barytes is being done in the state sector, Rajasthan has permitted mining by private sector and the results have been quite satisfactory.
It was in 1985 that RSMDC, a government undertaking, had floated a joint venture company by teaming up with MS Singhvi of Rajasthan barytes Ltd, to develop the barytes mines in the Udaipur region. For some reasons the joint venture did not come off to the desired expectations and in 1989-90 RSMDC withdrew from the mining of barytes with Singhvi emerging as a sole miner (of barytes) in the state.
Even today Singhvi's Rajasthan Barytes Ltd is doing the bulk of the mining with the demand of barytes going up steadily.Last year Singhvi could not do much due to the closureof mines following the Supreme Court order on pollution and a prolonged strike at the mines.
The company could produce only 6,000 tonnes of barytes valued at around Rs one crore. But this year Rajasthan Barytes Ltd is poised to do much better as it has already spent around Rs 2 crore on the mine mechanisation.
``Our mining cost has come down sizably after the mechanisation,'' says Singhvi.
The entire mining is open cast and the estimated deposits are put at 1.04 million tonnes. The company is producing barytes of different grades to meet the requirement of oil drilling, paints and paper industry.
The paper grade barytes is fetching the company Rs 7,500 per tonne followed by the paints grade (Rs 2,000 per tonne) and the oil grade (Rs 1,000 per tonne).
The company is also producing barium sulphate which is extensively used in the caustic soda industry and the value addition is quite encouraging. The grade of barytes found in Rajasthan is 4.1 which is not considered good as against the mineral foundin Andhra Pradesh. ``We can improve the grade also but the process will need some heavy investments'', says Singhvi.
In Andhra Pradesh the barytes deposits are Asia's largest - 72 million tonnes - and this year the total production is likely to be one million tonnes. Around four lakh tonnes may also be exported.The government is also speeding up the allotment of new mines of barytes in Rajasthan. Singhvi says that his company had developed the necessary technology to handle the mines with care so that the wastes could be minimised.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
