GOVT. OF

DIRECTORATE OF GEOLOGY AND MINIING

DISTRICT SURVEY REPORT

RAMANATHAPURAM DISTRICT

JUNE 2016

DISTRICT SURVEY REPORT

RAMANATHAPURAM DISTRICT

Contents Chapter Page No. I. Introduction II. Mining in the District-An Overview III. List of Mining Lease with location, area and period of validity IV Details of production of sand or Bajari or miner mineral V. Details of Royalty or Revenue received in last three years VI. Processes of deposition of sediments in the rivers of the district VII. General profile of the District VIII. Land utilisation pattern in the district IX. Physiographic+ of the district X. Rainfall month-wise XI. Geology and Mineral wealth of the district XII. Conclusion

I.Introduction

With reference to the gazette notification dated 15th January 2016, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the district environment Impact Assessment Authority (DEIAA) and District -Environment Assessment Committee (DEAC) are to be constituted for prior environmental clearance of quarry for minor minerals. The main purpose of preparation of District Survey Report is to identify the mineral resources and mining activities along with other relevant data of district. The DEIAA and DEAC will scrutinize and recommend the prior environmental clearance for minor minerals on the basis of district survey report. The district Survey Report was prepared with the assistance of Geological Survey of , State Unit: Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, . In the early 15th Century the present territories of Ramanathapuram district comprising of taluks , , , , Ramanathapuram and were included in Pandiyan Kingdom. For a short period, this area was under the Chola Kings when Rajendra Chola brought it under his territory in 1063 AD. In 1910, Ramanathapuram was formed by clubbing portions from and district. During the British period this district was called “Ramnad”. The name continued after independence. Later the district was renamed as Ramanathapuram to be in conformity with the Tamil name for this region. Ramanthapuram District is bounded on the north by District, on the northeast by District, on the east by the , on the south by the , on the west by District, and on the northwest by District. Ramanthapuram District covers an area of 4123 sq.km and falls within the latitude from 09°05' to 09°50' and longitude from 78°10' to 79°27'. It has seven taluks (Ramanathapuram, Tiruvadanai, Rameswaram, Paramakudi, Mudukulathur, Kamuthi and . with total population of 1,353,445 (as per 2011 census). But now one new Taluk named has been formed by clubbing portion of Ramanathapuram and Kadaladi Taluks in the year 2015 and its head quaters in Kilakarai.Total No. of Hamelet villages are 2362. The divisional details of the district is given below:

Name of Taluks comprised in Total No. of Total No.of Total No.of the Division the Division firkas Revenue Hamelet Villages villages Ramanathapuram 7 67 529 Ramanathapuram Tiruvadanai 7 98 635 Rameswaram 1 2 31 Paramakudi 6 93 367 Mudukulathur 6 46 207 Paramakudi Kamuthi 5 49 352 Kadaladi 6 45 241 Total 38 400 2362

District map of Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu

II. Mining in the District-An Overview

The district of Ramanathapuram is not very much rich in mineral resources. Among the known resources, only minor minerals are mostly found. Mineral of Economic importance found in Ramanathapuram district are mainly placer deposits like beach sand carrying garnet and Ilmentite, gypsum, salt, savadu, gravel/laterite, lignite and oil & natural gas. Mining activities based on these minerals are very less. However, numerous rough stone quarries are operational for production of construction material and earth fill (gravel) in Kilaramanadi, Naranapuram, Kilaramanadi, Kalimangundu , Ervadi, Panaikulum and Sudiyur, areas in this district. In addition to above, ‘brick clay’ mining is also active in Kulanthapuri and Karuthanendal areas.

ONGC is carrying out pumping of crude oil & natural gas since last one decade in Thrippulani Regunathapuram and Valandharavai areas. GSI has also explored presence of lignite in Vella and Bogalur and Kalari east sector.

The Department of Geology and Mining (DGM) is functioning in Ramanathapuram district under the control of District Collector, Ramanathapuram. The DGM is looking after the work of granting leases for minor minerals (savadu, gravel/laterite, brick clay, etc) dimensional stones and rough stones. DGM is also curbing illicit training in the district.

III. List of Mining Lease with location, area and period of validity

The commodity/item wise details of mining lease in Ramanathapuram district is given below:

List of Quarries -Minor Minerals

Sl. Mineral Name & Address of Location of lease Lease Area Date of Grant of Period Status No. Lessee (Village, Taluk, (Hects.,) lease (original (Years) Working Post Office, and subsequent / Non- Railway Station, renewals) Working and District

1 2 3 4 5 6 8 10

Ramanathapuram Taluk

1 Savadu Thiru.S.Nagarajan, Ramanathapuram 14/1B Roc.No.298/G&M. 15.12.201 Working 2/2015 6 S/o.Subramanian, Sathakkonevalasai 0.76.0 Dated: 29.06.2016 to 9/1137D Bharathi Nagar, 14.12.201 Village, 7 and District,

2 Red Soil Thiru.S.P.Saravanapandiya Ramanathapuram 524/2 Roc.No.1729/G&M 06.01.201 Working n .2/2014 7 Sakkarakkottai 1.22.5 S/o.Pandiyan, Dated: 23.08.2016 to

4-454, Thangappapuram, 05.01.201 8 Katurani Village,

Ramanathapuram Taluk.

3 Savadu Thiru.M.Kalidoss, Ramanathapuram 258 Roc.No.1013/G&M 19.01.201 Working Karan .2/2013, Dated: 7 S/o.Moorthy, 2.16.5 16.12.2016 to Kadukkavalasai Village, 18.01.201 Ramanathapuram Taluk. 8

Kilakkarai Taluk

1 Red Soil Thiru.M.Nagalingam, Kilakkarai 27/4A Roc.No.1233/G& 19.01.201 Working (0.84.5) M.2/2015, Dated: 7 S/o.Muniyandi, Kuthakkottai 27/4B 10.01.2017 (1.36.5) to 1/775, Bharathi Nagar, 18.01.201 Ramanathapuram Taluk. 8

2 Red Soil Thirumathi.R.Vijaya, Kilakkarai 10/1 Roc.No.1710/ 19.01.201 Working G&M.2/2015, 7 W/o.Ravichandran, Ervadi 1.00.00 Dated: 10.01.2017 to 18, Ilaiyanai, 18.01.201 Village, 8

Kadaladi Taluk, Ramanathapuram.

3 Red Soil Thiru.Parthimarkalignan, Kilakkarai 48/1 Roc.No.G&M.2/9 30.03.201 Working 67/2015, Dated: 7 S/oAngusamy, Ervadi 2.09.0 21.03.2017 to 1/2D Karukudi , 29.03.201 Vairavanendal Post, 8 Ramamathapuram Taluk

1 Savadu Thiru.M.Balasubramanian, Rameswaram 143/6 Roc.No.1618/G& 19.01.201 Working M.2/2015. Dated: 7 S/o.Marimuthu, Bamban 0.80.0 10.01.2017 to Center Street, 18.01.201 Thangatchimadam 8 Village,

Rameswaram Taluk,

Ramanathapuram District.

2 Savadu Thiru.S.Muruganandam, Rameswaram 202 Roc.No.1760/G& 15.03.201 Working M.2/2015, Dated: 7 S/o.Shanmugam, 1.38.0 15.03.2017 to Sallimalai Road, 14.02.201 Rameswaram 8

Thiruvadanai Taluk

1. Savadu Thiru.Buvaneswaran, Thiruvadanai 199/14A&200 Roc.No.1410/G& 24.03.201 Working /2A M.2/2013, Dated: 7 s/o.Irulandi, Varavani 15.03.2017 0.87.0 to R.S.Mangalam, 23.03.201 8 Thiruvadanai

Paramakudi Taluk

1. Gravel Thiru.P.Jeyaprakash, Paramakudi 212/7B, Roc.No.1476/G& 28.02.201 Working 214/2, 218/4, M.2/2015, Dated: 7 S/o.Periya Maruthu Sudiyur 228/4B & 22.02.2017 Pandiyan, 228/5 to 27.02.201 5/315, Sathya moorthy 3.75.5 8 Street,

Paramakudi.

2. Gravel Tmt.G.Umarani, Paramakudi 216/1 & Roc.No.1771/G& 05.06.201 Working 217/1A M.2/2015, Dated: 7 to S/o.Gnanasundaram, Sudiyur 05.06.2017 1.11.0 04.12.201 2/253, , 7 ,

Ramanathapuram District.

V. Details of Royalty or Revenue received in last three years

The mineral wise revenue collection for last three years is given below:

Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production and Royalty remittance for the period from 2014-2015 Production Royalty Remitted Crude Oil Natural Gas (M3) Crude Oil Natural Gas (MTS) 1 2 3 5 6 04/2014 1145 67260869 9522783 59198060 05/2014 1080 64390693 8884058 55567506 06/2014 1006 59209643 8201916 50551978 07/2014 1056 63413047 8869167 53146517 08/2014 1085 65544967 8811876 55394623 09/2014 996 60331952 7738424 51542267 10/2014 937 57702338 6967698 52243449 11/2014 1043 59699930 6921928 51733120 12/2014 976 51537494 5857422 61582563 01/2015 1086 55843035 5160647 67545375 02/2015 1016 54008590 3688031 65987224 03/2015 844 46193722 3755618 55994939 Total 12270 705136280 84379568 680487621

Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production and Royalty remittance for the period from 2015-2016 Production Royalty Remitted Month Crude Oil Natural Gas (M3) Crude Oil Natural Gas (MTS) 1 2 3 5 6 04/2015 925 51275520 4054549 61954444 05/2015 731 43730597 3443547 49109393 06/2015 803 46176505 4066703 52133664 07/2015 805 47473465 4026637 54527169 08/2015 759 45679446 3288713 52514405 09/2015 664 40455467 2486199 46390686 10/2015 677 41341543 2658619 48450838 11/2015 623 37260497 2424074 36421788 12/2015 438 24948790 1615790 23938689 01/2016 503 25811781 1597552 25190543 02/2016 518 27738143 1359356 27240798 03/2016 563 31776234 1525052 31549142 Total 8009 463667988 32546791 509421559

Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production and Royalty remittance for the period from 2016-2017 Production Royalty Remitted Month Crude Oil Natural Gas (M3) Crude Oil Natural Gas (MTS) 1 2 3 5 6 04/2016 739 42367633 2354430 42675240 05/2016 664 40919746 2266124 32433022 06/2016 534 34498289 2035697 27119183 07/2016 649 33442871 2504196 26380564 08/2016 752 32119154 2819993 25429911 09/2016 830 36355672 3110187 28742844 10/2016 827 36022548 3118522 28381731 11/2016 1039 45342911 4210073 29105630 12/2016 1021 44457685 3864910 28529785 01/2017 1067 46552802 4760600 30271895 02/2017 1028 46589547 4669248 30430949 03/2017 927 42012612 4223427 27536894 Total 10077 480681470 39937407 357037648

IV. Details of production of sand or Bajari or miner mineral

Year wise production of minor and major minerals during last three years is given below:

Seigniorage Fee (Minor Minerals)(2014-2015)

Month and Savadu Soil Production Gravel Production Limeshell Production Year

04/2014 683700 34185 266250 10650 1800 9

05/2014 653040 32652 218125 8725 - -

06/2014 796046 313050 12522 1200 6 39802 07/2014 759660 37983 395500 15820 - -

08/2014 501585 25079 250500 10020 - -

09/2014 806840 40342 216750 8670 - -

10/2014 504360 25218 197250 7890 - -

11/2014 324000 16200 93750 3750 - -

12/2014 608880 30444 92250 3690 - -

01/2015 603360 30168 380100 15204 - -

02/2015 520620 26031 122625 4905 - -

03/2015 852130 42607 53250 2130 - -

7614221 380711 2599400 103976 3000 15 Total

Seigniorage Fee (Minor Minerals)(2015-2016)

Month and Savadu Soil Production Gravel Production Limeshell Production Year

04/2015 799600 39980 375000 15000 - -

05/2015 653580 32679 168750 6750 - - 06/2015 602640 152550 - - 6102 30132 07/2015 652635 32632 110775 4431 3600 18 08/2015 662370 33119 106200 4248 - -

09/2015 573660 28683 116100 4644 - -

10/2015 396810 19841 85875 3435 2700 14

11/2015 213210 10661 58275 2331 - -

12/2015 1289580 64479 82575 3303 - -

01/2016 499860 24993 99450 3978 - -

02/2016 2108310 105416 115425 4617 - -

03/2016 4380410 219021 141750 5670 1800 9

12832665 641636 1612725 64509 8100 41 Total

Seigniorage Fee (Minor Minerals)(2016-2017)

Month and Savadu Soil Production Gravel Production Sand Production Year

04/2016 650700 32535 67500 2700 0 0

05/2016 894930 44747 142500 5700 0 0

06/2016 971120 354375 14175 0 0 48556 07/2016 1136790 56840 202500 8100 0 0

08/2016 750420 37521 241875 9675 0 0

09/2016 1901080 95054 185625 7425 0 0

10/2016 590040 29502 78750 3150 0 0

11/2016 603000 30150 33750 1350 0 0

12/2016 1208140 60407 0 0 1112002 6541

01/2017 1108300 55415 0 0 0 0

02/2017 639765 31988 0 0 0 0

03/2017 866040 43302 177502 7100 0 0

11320325 566017 1484377 59375 1112002 6541 Total VI. Processes of deposition of sediments in the rivers of the district

River sediment refers to the conglomerate of mineral matters such as clay, silt and sand which are derived from erosion and weathering of rocks present in the river bed. Breaking down of rocks by a geological agent, here it is river (water flow), is called erosion. Erosion of rocks occurs in many ways. Weathering is described as disintegration and decomposition of rocks due to change in physical and chemical conditions of the rock. Sediments are derived by these natural processes. Sediments are subsequently transported by water and/or by the force of gravity acting on the sediments.

Sediments become the river’s load and the river transport this loads through its course. Transportation of the sediments depends on the energy of the river and how big the load is. Boulders are transported by traction by which boulders are rolled along the bed of the river, eroding the bed and the particles in the process, because the river doesn’t have enough energy to move these large particles in any other way. Slightly smaller particles, such as pebbles and gravel, are transported by saltation. This is where the load bounces along the bed of the river because the river has enough energy to lift the particles off the bed but the particles are too heavy to travel by suspension. Fine particles like clay and silt are transported in suspension; they are suspended in the water. Most of a river’s load is transported by suspension. Solution is a special method of transportation. This is where particles are dissolved into the water so only rocks that are soluble, such as limestone or chalk, can be transported in solution.

Deposition occurs when forces responsible for sediment transportation are no longer sufficient to overcome the forces of gravity and friction which are creating a resistance to motion. To transport load, a river needs to have energy at the same time when a river loses energy, it is forced to deposit its load. One of the following ways, a river could lose its energy:

1. Reduction in the discharge: Reduction in discharge may be due to lack of precipitation and evaporation and abstraction by human activity. 2. Change in the river gradient: If the gradient of the river’s course flattens out, the river will deposit its load because it will be travelling a lot slower. When a river meets the sea a river will deposit its load because the gradient is generally reduced at sea level and the sea will absorb a lot of energy.

Much of the material will be carried in suspension and loads in suspension the river banks by abrasion. When rivers flow over flatter land, they form large bends called meanders. As a river goes around a bend, most of the water is pushed towards the outside causing increased erosion. The river is now eroding sideways into its banks rather than downwards into its bed, a process called lateral erosion. On the inside of the bend, in contrast, there is much less water. The river will therefore be shallow and slow flowing. It cannot carry as much material and so sand and gravels will be deposited. This is called a point bar or slip off slope. Due to erosion on the outside of a bend and deposition on the inside, the shape of a meander will change over a period of time. Eventually deposition will block off the old meander to leave an oxbow lake. The oxbow lake will slowly dry up, only refilling after heavy rain or during a flood. Vaigai, Gundar, Manimuthar and Pambar rivers are the major rivers draining the district. The general trend of the rivers is in NW-SE direction. The fluvio-marine deposits are exposed in the Vaigai delta as deltaic plain, paleo-tidal and dune flat deposits. Deposition of river sand in the rivers flowing in Ramanathapuram district is very less due to its seasonal in nature. The rivers of the district were only jungle streams that remained dry for the greatest portion of the year. However, mention may be made of which starts in in Tamil Nadu and ends with the Ramanathapuram big tank to the west of the Ramanathapuram town. There are seasonal smaller rivers like Malataru, Gundaru, and Sarugani river.

VII. General profile of the District

The city of Ramanathapuram is the district headquarters. Ramanthapuram District has an area of 4123 km2. This district is industrially backward and the three TaIuks, Paramakkudi, Kadaladi and Kamuthi had been declared by the State Government as backward areas entitling industrial units to be set up there for a central subsidy of 20 per cent on fixed capital investment. The main industries in which they were engaged were wood based industries, tinkering, fabricating of metal products, printing and binding, manufacture of agricultural implements and cement tiles, automobiles servicing and repair and safety matches. In addition to the small scale units, there were a number of villages and cottage industries prominent among them were pottery, blacksmith, carpentry, basket making, rope making and synthetic gem-cutting.

Dairying is one of the major subsidiary occupations which· offers immense scope for development in the district. The length of coastal line of Ramanathapuram District is big when compared to other coastal districts of Tamil Nadu. There are numerous fishing villages situated along the coastline in Ramanathapuram district. Fishing operation is mostly carried out by mechanised boat, motorised boat, non-mechanised boat and shore seine. However in recent years shore seine had been reduced due to its high cost. In Ramanathapuram district some small fish processing factories are functioning in Tondi and . Prawn, Squids, Cuttle fish, Crabs and fish are processed by fishing and exported to foreign countries. Many small entrepreneurs are involved in fish drying and dried fish is used in poultry and cattle feed manufacturing.

The above district profile reveals that the Ramanathapuram district is a dry and most backward area which has more sandy soil on which nothing grows. Among the cultivation of major important crops, the productions of pulses are more than other crops. The major areas of the district are irrigated by tanks. It has poor infrastructure and the lack of the development of industries

Other statistics of the district is given below:

1. Area : 4175 Sq.K.M. 2. Population ( as per Provisional : 1337560 2011 Census) Male Female Sex ratio 676574 660986 977 Rural Urban Total 9,57,941 15,21,111 24,79,052 3. No. of Revenue Divisions : 2, Ramanathapuram and Paramakudi 4. No. of Taluks : 7 5. No. of Revenue Villages : 400 6. No. of Blocks : 11 7. No. of Panchayats : 429 8. No. of Hamlets : 2362 9. No. of Municipalities : 4 10. No. of Towns : 7 11. No. of Parliamentary : 1 constituencies 12. No. of Assembly : 4 constituencies 13. Irrigation : Mainly rain fed on north east monsoon seasons only

14. Road : 1. National Highways 188 km 2. State Highways 201km 3. Other District Roads 1142 km 4. Major District roads 139 km

15. No. of Noon meal centre : 1184 16. No. of Anganwadi Centre : 618

17. Schools & Colleges : Govt Private 1. Elementary School 816 167 2. Middle School 114 52 3. High School 42 33 4. Higher Sec. School 28 32 5. Arts & science colleges 5 2 6. Engineering colleges - 2 18. No. of Primary Health Centre/ : 45/ 227 sub-centres 19. Total No. of Hospitals : 10 20. Hostel : SC BC ST 34 45 - 21. No. of post offices : 104 nos.- doing postal service 211 nos.- post & telegraph alone service 22. No. of Police Stations : 39

23. No. of Jails 4

VIII. Land utilisation pattern in the district

Soil is one of the natural resources which has the most direct impact on agricultural development. Types of soil, rainfall and irrigation projects have influenced the development of land use in the district. While the entire area of this district consists of Red loam, Laterite soil Black soil and Sandy soil. This area is dry and backward and known as East Ramanathapuram, comprising the taluks Thiruvadanai, Ramanathapuram, Kadaladi and Rameswaram. This region is called coastal region of Ramanathapuram district. It has all the depressing features such as poor soil, frequent droughts, absence of irrigation systems, precarious farming etc. This area is much more backward and underdeveloped than any other districts. Mainly in coastal area, the terrain is completely a sandy tract with very little scope for agriculture. So, all the people of coastal region of Ramanathapuram are engaging themselves intensively in the fishing occupation. The major source of irrigation in the district was tank fed by rains. Details with regard to net area irrigated by sources of tanks, tube wells and other wells revealed the erratic pattern in area irrigated. The cattle wealth of this district is important to improve its agricultural resources. The important subsidiary activities carried on by the cultivators and agricultural labourers are dairying, sheep rearing and poultry. The following table shows land utilization pattern in the district:

IX.Physiography of the district

Physiographically, the entire district is a plain terrain. Major part of the district is a gently sloping plain except for remnant hills in the western area. Recent Quaternary studies have brought out various erosional and depositional landforms of fluvial and marine regimes. The fluvial landforms comprise flood plains of Vaigai, Varshalei, Pambar, Kottakkarai and Gundar rivers. The marine landforms comprise sand mounds (Teri’s) and barrier dunes along the present coast. The erosional processes are manifested in the form of pediments and pedipalin around Kamuthi.

The Cauvery–Palar basin is one of the major petroliferous basins located at the south eastern coast of the peninsular India covering the coast between Ramanathapuram near the Palk Strait. The basin is characterized by the presence of NE–SWtrending horst-graben subsurface basement struc-tural features having a sediment cover of nearly1–6 km.

Geomorphological and tectonic map showing Cauvery–Palar basin covering the coast between Ramanathapuram near the Palk Strait. (Source: Crustal structure and rift tectonics across the Cauvery –Palar basin, Eastern Continental Margin of India based on seismic and potential field modelling by D Twinkle,G Srinivasa Rao ,M Radhakrishna1,and K S R Murthy)

X. Rainfall month-wise

Ramanathapuram district is a dry and backward area. Here, the hottest months of a year are May and June. The rainy season begins from the month of August. The average annual rainfall of this district from South-West monsoon is 136.1 mm and North-East monsoon is 507.4 mm, the district also gets considerable rainfall during North-East monsoon.. Month wise rainfall data of the district is given below:

YEAR JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN R/F %DEP R/F %DEP R/F %DEP R/F %DEP R/F %DEP R/F %DEP 2014 ------2015 ------2016 ------

JUL AUG SEPT OCT-DEC YEAR R/F %DEP R/F %DEP R/F %DEP R/F %DEP 2014 ------630.64 2015 ------627.31 2016 ------173.29

XI. Geology and Mineral wealth of the district

An outline on Geology of Tamilnadu

Crystalline rocks of Achaean to late Proterozoic age occupy over 80% of the area of the Tamilnadu, while the rest is covered by Phanerozoic sedimentary rocks mainly along the coastal belt and in a few inland River valleys. The hard rock terrain comprises predominantly of Charnockite and Khondalite groups and their migmatitic derivatives, supracrustal sequences of and Kolar groups and Peninsular Gneissic Complex (Bhavani Group), intruded by ultramafic-mafic complexes, basic dykes, granites and syenites. The sedimentary rocks of the coastal belt include fluviatile, fluvio-marine and marine sequences, such as Gondwana Supergroup (Carboniferous to Permian and Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous), marine sediments of Cauvery basin (Lower Cretaceous to Paleogene), /Panambarai Formation (Mio-Pliocene) and sediments of Quaternary and Recent age. Geological map of Tamilnadu and Puducherry is given below:

Source: Miscellaneous publication, GSI, SU:TN&P, Chennai

Geology of Ramanathapuram District

Most of the area is covered by the unconsolidated sediments of Quaternary age except in the northwestern part, where isolated patches of Archaen Crystallines and Tertiary sandstone are exposed. The Archaeans are mainly represented by the Charnockite Group of rocks comprising garnetiferrous granulite and the Khondalite Group of rocks made up of quartzite of geneses. The Tertiary sandstone (Cuddalore Formation) comprise pinkish, yellowish, reddish (variegated colours) medium to coarse grained sandstone and clay stone. It is overlain by thin alluvium and exposed towards north of Vaigai River. Detached exposures of laterite and lateritic soil are seen in the northwestern part of the district. A major part of the district is covered with the fluvial, fuvio-marine, Aeolian and marine sediments of Quaternary age. The fluvial deposits which are made up of sand, silt and clay in varying degree of admixture occur along the active channels of Vaigai, Gundar, Manimuthar and Pambar rivers. They have been categorized into levee, flood basin, channel bar/ point bar and paleo-channel deposits. The paleo channel deposits comprise brown coloured, fine to medium sands with well preserved cross-beddings. The fluvio-marine deposits are exposed in the Vaigai delta as deltaic plain, paleo-tidal and dune flat deposits. The deltaic plain and dune flats comprise medium, Grey brown sands. The paleo tidal flat deposits include black silty clay, black clay and mud. In Rameswaram Island, the fluvio-marine deposits include indurated sand and dune sands. The Aeolian deposits comprise red sands which are in nature of ancient dunes and occur over a 3.2 Km wide and 8 Km long stretch and lie parallel to the sea coast. These are separated by marshy deposits of black clays. The sands are underlain by calcareous hardpan. In Rameswaram Island also brown sand deposits occur around Sambaimadam on either side of NH 49 west of the town. The marine formation comprises coastal plain deposits of sand and clay in varied proportion. Marine calcareous hardpan occurs as low terraces and platforms, with admixture of quartz, limonite and garnet concentration

Mineral occurrences in Ramanathapuram District

Gypsum, limonite, garnet sand, lime shells, salt, clays and building stones are the known mineral potential of the area. Apart from these mineral resources, occurrence of lignite , Oil & natural gas has also been reported in the district. All the occurrence are of local nature only and are not of any economic significance.

Beach placers containing Garnet and Ilmenite:

The beach sands along the coast of Ramanathapuram district carry small quantities of ilmenite and garnet, widely separated from each other, ranging in length from a few metres to 8 km., and thickness from 0.6 to 2.5 cm. The occurrences are as follows:

1. Agni Theertham sea beach (N 09°17’23.22”; E 79°19’16.08”) of Rameswaram Taluk; 2. (N 09°15’51.36”; E 78°55’22.00”), Kalimangundu (N 09°15’23.11”; E78°52’26.68”), Periyapattinam (N 09°15’51.36”; E 78°55’22.00”), Thrippulani (N09°14’53.65”; E 78°50’35.76”) of Kilakkarai Taluk; 3. Pudupattinam sea beach (N 09°40’47.80”; E 78°58’34.35”), Vattanam (N 09°47’32.07”; E79°04’08.15”), Sundarapandiapattinam sea beach (N 09°50’08.20”; E 79°06’09.93”) of and in some portions of also.

The deposits can be mainly classified as “ Unsurveyed coastal poramboke”.

Black patches of Ilmetite mineral ( along with Garnet) Beach sand containing Ilmenite and Garnet minerals occur as placer deposit at Periyapattinam sea beach, in Kalimangundu sea beach, Kilakkarai Taluk, Kilakkarai Taluk, N 09°15’51.36”; E 78°55’22.00” N 09°15’23.11”; E 78°52’26.68”,

Salt and Gypsum

Salt is being produced in the pans/ tanks by using sea water as well as by pumping out the ground water, which is highly affected by the salt water intrusion in the coastal areas. Mostly private parties are dealing with the production of salt from saline water, but Government authority like Tamil Nadu Salt Corp. LTD., is also producing salt in this region. Salt produced here are of industrial use only. Major salt producing areas are: Valinokkam (N09°10’56.44”; E 78°38’18.53”), Thrippulani (N 09°16’34.24”; E 78°48’29.83”), Kopaerimadam (N 09°26’10.99”; E 78°53’01.47”), and Pathenendal (N 09°31’41.66”; E78°54’36.14”). Salt is produced at a density of 24° Be’. NaCl % of the salt is about 99 %.

Salt pan at Tamil Nadu Salt Corp. Ltd., Valinokkam, Kadaladi Taluk, N09°10’56.44”; E 78°38’18.53”.

Crystals of gypsum (selenite) is also produced in the salt pans, as a byproduct. It is produced a density of 17° Be’. Major gypsum producing areas are: Valinokkam (N09°10’56.44”; E 78°38’18.53”), Thrippulani (N 09°16’34.24”; E 78°48’29.83”), Kopaerimadam (N 09°26’10.99”; E 78°53’01.47”), and Pathenendal. However presence of nodular gypsum has also been reported at Kokkadi (9°12' : 78°24') and Arattandai (9°13': 78°24'). The nodules contain 75 to 80% CaSO4, 2H2O. The reserves of gypsum of this area are estimated to be of the order of 33,500 tonnes, of which about 10,000 tonnes have already been mined (Data source: Mineral Wealth of Tamil Nadu, GSI).

Gypsum crystals (selenite) at Thrippulani village, Gypsum (nodules) at Kokkadi, Kadaladi Taluk , Kilakkarai Taluk, N 09°16’34.24”; E 78°48’29.83; N 09°11’44.78”; E 78°22’40.73”

Savudu sand

Deposits of savudu sand or earth filling sand is located at many places in the district. Savudu sand quarries have been marked in Ariangundu (N 09°17’49.7”; E 79°16’58.76”), (N 09°09’49.36”; E 78°30’10.4”), Kalimangundu (N 09°15’55.01”; E78°52’44.95”), Panaikulum (N 09°22’39.28”; E 78°56’50.47”) and Varavani (N 09°38’24.67”; E 78°48’53.19”) areas. Depth of excavation permitted for quarrying generally varies from 1 m to 2 m max. Savudu sand is present in the topmost layer of the soil profile and acts an aquifer for recharging the ground water of a particular area.

Savadu sand quarry at Panaikulum village, Ramnad Taluk, N09°22’39.28”; E 78°56’50.47”; (S. No. 26)

River sand

River sand is mainly used for masonry purpose. PWD is excavating river sand from Pambar river bed (N 09°50’59.73”; E 79°04’16.35”). A total quantity of 58490 m3 of river sand excavation has been granted under lease for an area of 4.82 Ha. The depth of excavation is limited to 1 m.

Gravel/ Laterite

Gravel/ Laterite deposits have been found in Kilaramanadi (N 09°23’36.90”; E 78°18’00.77”), Naranapuram (N 09°25’41.11”; E 78°22’43.41”) and Sudiyur (N 09°36’34.82”; E78°29’43.00”) areas. It is used as an earth filling or road material. Maximum depth permission for gravel excavation is 1 m.

At Kilaramanadi (N 09°23’36.90”; E 78°18’00.77”), rough stone deposit is also present 1 m below the surface (below laterite horizon). This is used for the production of m- sand or synthetic sand.

Gravel/ Laterite at Kilaramanadi, , Roughstone at Kilaramanadi, Kamuthi Taluk, N 09°23’36.90”; E 78°18’00.77”. N 09°23’36.90”; E 78°18’00.77”.

Brick clay

Deposits of Brick clay have been mainly noticed along the western margin of the district, in areas like Karuthanendal (N 09°28’10.00”; E78°39’40.00”), Kulanthapuri (N 09°33’31.11”; E 78°28’33.14”) and Gangaikondan village. Maximum depth permission for brick clay excavation is 1 m. Based on this, some brick clay industries have also been noticed at Kulanthapuri, Gangaikondan , Karuthanendal and other adjoining areas.

Brick clay/ Savadu sand quarry at Kulanthapuri Brick kiln at Kulanthapuri village, Paramakudi village, Paramakudi Taluk, N 09°33’31.11”; Taluk E 78°28’33.14”

Shell limestome:

Sub-Recent shell limestone occurs at about 0.8 km. north of Rameswaram (N 9°17': E79°19'). Reserves are of the order of 81,300 tonnes, with 49.25% CaO, 0.72% MgO and 5.58% SiO2. Small, non operational quarries of shell limestone have been noticed in Vadakadu village (N 09°18’22.36”; E 79°18’09.96), Rameswaram taluk.

Pit for Shell limestone at Vadakadu village, Rameswaram Taluk, N09°18’22.36”; E 79°18’09.96”

Crude oil and natural gas

ONGC has done exploration for crude oil & natural gas in the district of Ramanathapuram, about a decade ago and has got good reserves of the same. At present many oil pumps are found to be working at Regunathapuram, Raman Valasi, Anthankarai, Kanjarankudi, Korikottam and Thrippulani areas. In general, the crude oil reserves are found here at a depth of 2500-3000 m.

Oil well/ pump at Regunathapuram, Kilakkarai Taluk, N09°18’0.40”; E78°55’6.04”

Lignite

Lignite deposits have been explored and reported by Geological Survey of India (GSI) at various locations like Bogalur East Sector, Uttarakosamangai Sector, Kalari West Sector & Kalari North Sector covering an area of about 280 Sq. Km. The cumulative thickness of lignite seam varies from 1 m to 31 m at a depth range of 450m -500m. Ramnad sub- basin is located in the southern most part of the Cauvery basin. Lignite seams area present in the upper part of Neyveli Formation.

Drill rig set up at drilling site (N 09°19’26.97”; E 78°45’38.74) at Vella village, Kilakkarai Taluk, for lignite exploration

Coral reef

A total of 2.28 million tonnes of recent coral reefs analysing over 52.0% CaO, upto 2.0% Silica and 1.0% R2O3 occur as disconnected masses fringing the isles in the Gulf of Mannar, off Ramanathapuram-Tirunelveli Coast (Data source: Mineral Wealth of Tamil Nadu, GSI).

Coral reefs at the isles in the Gulf of Mannar, off Ramanathapuram-Tirunelveli Coast. (P.C: Wildlife Conservation Dept., Gulf of Mannar Biosphere reserve)

In Gulf of Mannar, corals occur mostly around the 21 uninhabited islands. Among 21 islands, two islands have submerged mainly due to coral mining. Corals and coral reefs of Gulf of Mannar form an important ecosystem, which support a variety of ornamental fishes and other fauna and flora.

Coral mining happened in Gulf of Mannar for decades until 2004, which is the prime and utmost factor for the coral decline in Gulf of Mannar. Coral mining was controlled by strong regulations (corals are included under schedule – I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 in 2001) and implementations and it was completely stopped.

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