DISTRICT SURVEY REPORT OF DISTRICT

PREFACE

In Compliance to the Notification Issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change Dated 15.01.2016, the preparation of District survey report of minor minerals is in accordance appendix 10 of the notification. It is also mentioned here that the procedure of preparation of District Survey Report is as per notification guidelines. Every effort have been made to cover mining locations, areas & overview of Mining activity in the district with all its relevant features pertaining to geology & mineral wealth in replenishable and non- replenishable areas. This report will be a model and guiding document which is a compendium of available mineral resources, geographical set up, environmental and ecological set up of the District and is based on data of various departments, published reports and websites. The data may vary due to flood, heavy rains and other natural cliamities. Therefore, it is recommended that Sub Divisional Level Committee may take into consideration all its relevant aspects / data while scrutinizing and recommending the application for EC to the concerned Authority.

SURVEY REPORT OF

As per Gazette notification of 15th January 2016 of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change a Survey shall be carried out by the District Environment Impact Assessment Authority (DEIAA) with assistance of irrigation department, Drainage department, Forest department, Mining department and Revenue department in the district for preparation of District Survey Report as per the sustainable Miner mineral mining guidelines to ensure identification of areas of aggradations or deposition where mining can be allowed; and identification of areas of erosion and proximity to infrastructural structures and installations where mining should be prohibited and calculation of annual rate of replenishment and allowing time for replenishment after mining in that area.

Every effort have been made to cover mining locations, areas & overview of Mining activity in the district with all its relevant features pertaining to geology & mineral wealth in replenish-able and non-replenish-able of particular areas. The mineral potential is calculated based on field investigation & geology of the catchment area. Also as per the site conditions and locations, depth of minable mineral is defined. The area for removal of the mineral in a particular area is decided depending on geo-morphology & other factors, it can be 10% to 40% of the area. Other constituents like clay soil and silt are excluded as waste while calculating the mineral potential of particular mining area. This District Survey Report shall form the basis for application for environment clearance, preparation of reports and appraisal of projects. The report shall be updated once every five years.

1.0 INDRODUCTION: Namakkal district is bounded by on the north; on the east by taluk of Salem district, and Tiruchirapalli District's; by District on the south and on the west by district.(Namakkal District profile, SouthIndia Online) Namakkal District comes under the North Western Agro climatic zone of . It is situated in the dividing portion of two watersheds between Cauvery and the Vellar System with the Taluks of Attur, and Namakkal on the East and Salem, Omalur and on the West. taluk alone is placed under Western Agroclimatic zone Namakkal District, Govt of Tamil Nadu Besides the above two zones, Kolli and a few isolated hills and ridges are scattered over Namakkal, Rasipuram and Tiruchengode and along with the valleys and rolling hills, make up the characteristic topography of the district.

Fig.No.1: NAMAKKAL DISTRICT AND TALUK MAP The Namakkal District lies in the interior of Tamilnadu between the North Latitudes 11° 00' 00" to 11° 36' 10" and East Longitudes 77° 40' 00" to 78° 30' 00". The total geographical area of the District is 3404.3 sq. km. The district has been is divided into four taluks namely, Namakkal, Thiruchengode, and Rasipuram and fifteen administrative blocks. The location of the study area is shown in the Figure 1.

2.0 PHYSICAL FEATURES & GEOGRAPHICAL AREA: a) Brief detail of Namakkal District S.NO ITEMS STATISTICS GENERAL INFERMATION a) Geographical area(S.q.km) 3404.3 sq.km b) Administrative divisions as on 31.03.2007 i) c) Number of Taluk 05 d) Number of Block 15 e) Number of villages 454 f) Number of Panchayats 331 Population ii) (as on 2011Censes) Total- 1495661 Total population Male- 760409 Female-735252 iii) Average annual rainfall (mm) 650 - 900 Geomorphology I. Major physiographic Upland plateau region with hill

Units ranges and undulating plain. ii. Major Drainages Cauvery, Tirumanimutar Landuse (Sq.km) a) Forest area 439 Sq.km iv) b) Net area sown 1765 Sq.km c) Cultivable waste 48 Sq.km Red soil, Black soil, Brown soil, v) Major soil types Alluvial soil & mixed soil. Area under principal crops

a) Paddy 18832Ha-9.20%

vi) b) Groundnut 47639Ha-23.0% c) 13278Ha-6.4% d) Oil seeds 20073Ha-12% e) Fodder 38010Ha-18.5% Irrigation by different Area irrigated

sources (Ha) Number Number of area irrigated (Ha) vii) i) dug wells 75961 40879 ii) Tube wells /Bore wells 5144 21730 iii) Tanks/ ponds 259 799 iv) Canals 3 4915 v) Other sources --- 5995 vi) Net irrigated area 74318Ha vii) Cross irrigated area 88146 Ha Alluvium, Colluvium, Laterite, Predominant Geological Granite, Dolerite, Quartzite, viii) formations Charnockite and Granite Gneiss. Hydrogeology Alluvium, Colluvium, i) Major water bearing weathered &fractured Granite formations Gneiss, Charnockite. ix) ii)Pre-monsoon depth to water 1.20 – 14.33m bgl. level iii) Post-monsoon depth to water 0.86 – 16.60m bgl. level Annual Rise Long term water level trend in 10 Fall (m/year) x) (m/year) years(2006-16)in m/yr Min:0.0335 Min:0.0186 Max:0.6159 Max:0.9738

Ground water exploration by CGWB (As on 31-03-2016)

a) Number of exploratory wells 14 drilled b) Number of observation wells 07 drilled xi) c) Number of Piezometers drilled 13 under Hp d) Depth of range(m) 76.61 – 300.00 e) Discharge(lps) 0.50 – 15.26 f) Specific capacity ( Lpm/m ) 4.491 – 57.85 g) Transmissivity (m2/day) 2 - 45 Ground water quality i) Presence of chemical TH as Ca CO3, NO3, F xii) constituents more than permissible limit ii) Type of water NaCl & mixed type Dynamic ground water

resources xiii) a) Annual replenishable ground 493.51 water resources b) Total Annual ground water 514.31 draft for all purposes. c) Projected demand for domestic and industrial uses 24.47 up to 2025 d) Stage of ground water 106% development EFFORTS OF ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE & RAINWATER

HARVESTING I. Project completed by Construction of Subsurface CGWB Number of Dyke at Kunavelampatti under

structures Amount central sectore scheme spent 1) High level of ground water development. 2) Declining of ground water level and drying of MAJOR GROUND WATER shallow wells. 16. PROBLEMS AND ISSUS 3) Inclidence of fluoride in ground water. 4) Local pollution of surface and ground water by industrial units. b) Administrative Details Namakkal district is divided into 5 taluks. The taluks are further divided into 15 blocks, which further divided into 39 villages. Adiministrative set-up of Namakkal District S. Taluk Area No.of Block No.of No (sq.km) Villages Villages 1 Namakkal 1244.6 117 Namakkal 23 30 17 Erumaipatti 25 7 15 2 Paramathi 523.06 60 Paramathi 23 velur Mohanur 11 Kabilarmalai 26 3 Rasipuram 817.48 102 Rasipuram 25 Vennandur 30 Namagiripet 38 Kolli Hills 9 4 Tiruchengode 844.16 112 Tiruchengode 38 27 Elachipalayam 29 18 Total 3429.3 391 391 c) Drainage Cauvery River, which is perennial in nature, flows along the western and southern boundaries of the district. Tirumanimuttar river, which is the the most important tributary of Cauvery in the district and traverses the district before its confluence with Cauvery at village of Paramathi taluk. A samall area in the northern part, which is drained mainly by vasista and Sweta Nadi Rivers, which are tributation of vellar River. d) Irrigation Practices The nine – fold land use classification for the district is given below S.No Classification Area 1 Forests 43909 2 Barren & Uncultivable Lands 24743 3 Land put to non agriculture uses 38302 4 Cultivable Waste 4781 5 Permanent pastures & other 6684 grazing lands 6 Groves not included in the area 3854 sown 7 Current Fallows 28375 8 Other Fallow Lands 9143 9 Net Area sown 176544 Total 336335

The data available indicate that an area of about 74318Ha is under irrigated agriculture. Dug wells are the major source of water for irrigation in the district, accounting for about 55% of the total area irrigated in the district. Canals and tanks account for about 8% each.

The block wise and source wise net area irrigated in Ha is given below S. Block Total Net No Net area irrigated by Area irrigated Canals Tanks Tube Ordinary Other wells wells sources 1 Elachipalayam 0.00 0.00 2410 1506 0.00 3916 2 Erumaipatti 0.00 1268 1120 5622 218 8228 3 Kabilarmalai 3149 0.00 0.00 3507 3050 9706 4 Kolli hills 0.00 0.00 6.00 0.00 788 794 5 Mallasamudram 0.00 2724 142 1567 0.00 4433 6 Mohanur 412 206 757 5318 8.00 6701 7 Namagiripet 0.00 0.00 291 4893 20.00 5204 8 Namakkal 0.00 0.00 96 1667 0.00 1763 9 Pallipalayam 1209 0.00 296 2383 986 4874 10 Paramathi Velur 337 0.00 95 5983 0.00 6415 11 Puduchatram 0.00 0.00 258 4059 0.00 4317 12 Rasipuram 0.00 0.00 496 1711 0.00 2207 13 Sendamangalam 0.00 0.00 130 5413 1057 6600 14 Thiruchengode 1040 0.00 406 4564 0.00 6010 15 Vennandur 0.00 0.00 242 2908 0.00 3150 Total 6147 4198 6745 51101 6127 74318 e) RAINFALLS AND CLIMATE The district receives the rain under the influence of both southwest and northeast monsoon. The northeast monosoon chiefly contributes to the rainfall in the district. Most of the precipitation occurs in the form of cyclonic storms caused due to the depressions in Bay of Bengal. The southwest monosoon rainfall is highly erratic and summer rains are negligible. Rainfall data from six stations over the period 1901 – 2000 were utilized and a perusal of the analysis shows that the normal annual rainfall over the district varies from about 640 mm to 880 mm. It is the minimum around paramathi in the southwestern part of the district. It gradually increases towards north, northeast and east and attains a maximum around Rasipuram in the northern part.

The district enjoys a tropical climate. The weather is pleasant during the period from Novermber to January. Mornings are more humid than the afternoons, with the humidity exceeding 78% on an average. In the rest of the year the afternoons are driver, the summer afternoons being the driest. The hot weather beings early in March, the highest temperature being felt in April and May. Weather cools down progressively from about the middle of June and by December; the mean daily maximum temperature drops to 30.20 C, while the mean daily minimum drops to 19.20C and 19.60C in January in Salem and Mattur Dam respectively. Though the maximum temperatures in February are about the same as in July, the nights are much cooler in February. Being an interior district, the diurnal range of temperature is large, particularly in the dry and hot seasons. In February-March the mean diurnal range of temperature is as high as 13.70C while in October – November it is only about 90C.

3.0 GEOMORPHYLOGY AND SOIL TYPES a) Geomorphology Namakkal district forms part of the upland plateau region of Tamil Nadu with manly hill ranges, hillocks and undulating terrain with a gentle slope towards east. The prominent geomorphic units identified in the district through interpretation of satellite imagery are i) Structural hills, ii) Bazada zone, iii) Valley fill, iv) Pediments v) Shallow pediments vi) Deep Pediments.

A number of hill ranges are located in the eastern in the eastern and northeastern parts of the district, whereas the southern, western and northern parts of the district are plain to undulating, dotted with a few isolated hillocks. The important hill ranges in the district are Kollimalai hills, Bodamalai hills, Naraikinaru hills and pachamalai hills. The highest peak in the district is the Kollimalai hill with an elevation of 1293m above MSL. Other important peaks are kedda malai and hill in the Bodamalai hill range. b) Soils The soils of Namakkal district can be broadly classified into 5 major soils type viz., Red soil, Black soil, Brown soil, Alluvial and Mixed soil. Major part of the district covered by Red soil. Block soils are mostly seen in . Beown soil occupies only a small portion of Tiruchengode taluk and the alluvial soil is seen along the river courses in Namakkal, paramathi and Tiruchengode taluks. Mixed soil is the second major second major soil type occurring all the taluks of the district. c) GROUND WATER SCENARIO: i) Hydrogrology Namakkal district is underlain entirely by Archaean Crystalline with Recent alluvial deposits occurring along the river courses and Colluvium at the foot hills. The important aquifer systems in the district are constituted by weathered & fractured crystalline rocks and Colluvial deposits. The porous formations in the district are represented by alluvium and colluviums. The alluvial deposits are confined to the major river courses only. Ground water occurs under phreatic conditions. The maximum saturated thickness of these aquifers is up to 5 m depending upon the northern parts of the near by hill ranges comprising sands and gravels. The maximum saturated thickness of the aquifers is up to 20 m depending upon the topographic conditions. Ground water occurs under phreatic conditions. The hard consolidated crystalline rocks of Archean age represent weathered and fractured formations of Granite gneiss, Granite, Charnokite and other associated rocks. Ground water occurs under phreatic conditions in the weathered mantle and under semi- confined conditions in the fractured zones. The thickness of weathered zone in the district while range from < 1m to 30m. It is within the depth of 20 m in major part of the district, they are more than 20 m. The depth of the dug wells ranged from 7 to 45m bgl. The yield of the open wells range from < 50 to 200 m3/ day in weathered crystalline rocks and up to 400 m3/ day in recent alluvial formations along major drainage courses. The yield of bore wells drilled down to a depth of 40 100 m, by various state agencies manily for domestic purposes ranged from 90 to 360 liters per hour. The yield of successful bore wells drilled down to a depth of 300 m bgl during the ground water exploration programme of Central Ground Water Board range from < 1 to 15 Ips. The aquifer and well parameters of the wells show wide variation. The depth to water level in the district varied between 1.20 – 14.33 m bgl during pre monsoon depth to water level and varied between 0.86 – 16.60 m bgl during post monsoon depth to water level. The seasonal fluctuation shows a rise in water level, which ranges from 0.03 to 3.51 m bgl. The piezometric head varied between 1.35 to 9.40 m bgl during pre monsoon and G.l to 13.00 m bgl during post monsoon. Aquifer parameters Aquifer Parameters Weathered Fractured Aquifer Residuum Transmissivity( m2/day) <1 - 100 2-106 Storativity - 9.6 X 10-5 – 4.3 X 10-2 Specific yield 0.015 - ii) Ground water Resources The ground water resources have been computed jointly by Central Ground Water Board and State Ground & Surface Water Resources and Developmetn Centre. The salient feature of the computations is furnished below. The computation of ground water resources available in the district has been done using Gec 1997 methodology. iii) Ground water Quality Ground water in phreatic aquifers in Namakkal district is in general colorless, odorless and predominantly alkaline in nature. The specific electrical conductance of ground water in phreatic zone during May 2006 was in the range of 1300 to 7080 in the district. It is between 2000 and 4000 µS/cm at 250 C in the major part of the district. It is observed that only in selected places of the distrct, the ground water is suitable for drinking and domestic uses in respect of all the constituents. The total hardness as CaCO3 as well as nitrate is observed to be in excess of permissible limits in about 66 and 86 percent of samples analysed. Fluoride in excess of the drinking water limit of sulphates was in excess of the drinking water limit of 400 mg/l. The incidence of high total hardness and fluoride is attributed to the composition of lithounits constituting the aquifers in the district, whereas the nitrate pollution is most likely due to the use of fertilizers and other improper waste disposal. Excess of fluoride is observed in place such as Venandur, udaiyarpalayam, Talamabadi, V.G.patti and Mohanur. With regard to irrigation suitability based on specific electrical conductance and sodium Absorption Ratio it is observed that ground water in the phreatic zone may cause high salinity hazard and medium to high alkali hazard when part of the district while ground water for irrigation.

iv) Status of Ground water development: The estimation of groundwater resources for the district has shown that 8 blocks are over exploited and 2 blocks are under “critical” category. Tamil Nadu Water supply and Drainage ( TWAD) Board is the Government agency responsible for providing drinking water supplies to the urban and rural populace in the distric. The water requirements of the habitations are met with either through surface water sources or through surface water sources or through various Mini Water supply schemes or integrated water resources. The status of urban and rural water supply in the district as in March is furnished below Total Number of Rural Habitants : 2875 Not Covered : 395 (0-9 LPCD) Partly Covered : 1422 (10-39 LPCD) Fully Covered : 1058 (>40 LPCD)

The habitants of 5 Municipalities of the district are provided with 70 – 90 LPCD water and the habitants 19 special Panchayats are provided with 20 – 70 LPCD water. Dug wells have traditionally been the most common ground water abstraction structures used for irrigation in the district, with yields ranging from <50 to 200 m3/day in weathered crystalline rocks and up to 400 m3/day alluvial formations along major drainage courses.

4.0 GROUND WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY: i) Groundwater Development: In view of the comparatively high level of ground water development in the major part of the district and the quality problems dug to geoogenic and anthropogenic factors, it is necessary ground water resources in the district. The development of ground water for irrigation in the district is mainly through dug wells tapping the weathered residuum. The yields of dug wells are improved at favourable locations by construction of extension bores, which are 40 to 70m deep. Bore wells have also become popular as the source for irrigation in the district in recent years. Dug wells with extension bores wherever necessary is ideal for hard rock areas whereas large diameter dug wells with radials is suitable for alluvial areas. The map showing the development prospects for the district.

ii) Water Conservation and Artificial Artificial Recharge CGWB had prepared a master plan to augment groundwater potential by saturating the shallow aquifer taking into consideration the available unsaturated space during post monsoon and available uncommitted surplus run off. Subsequently, computations have been made for Drought prone Area Programme (DPAP) for over exploited and critical blocks in the districts warranting immediate attention. Institute of Remote Sensing, Anna University had prepared block wise maps demarcating potential zones for artificial recharge for the state of Tamil Nadu. Subsequently, state Government agencies have constructed artificial recharge structures with their own fund or with fund from central Government, dovetailing various government programmes. Ministry of Water Resoures, Government of has initiated Dug well Recharge scheme in the state. The scheme is being implemented by the Nodal Department with the technical guidance of CGWB. The subsidy for small and marginal farmers and 2000/- for the other farmers is credited to the beneficiaries bank account through NABARD. The scheme after implementation will prove to be beneficinal to the irrigation sector. The available uncommitted surplus run off has to be recomputed, taking into consideration the quantum of recharge affected through existing irrigation dug wells also. The existing structures and uncommitted surplus flow should be considered for further planning of artificial recharage programme. On the basis of experimental studies, it has been found that desilting of existing tanks followed by percolation pond with recharge wells, recharge shafts are economical. There is considerable scope for implementation of roof – top rainwater harvesting in the district. Recharge pits / shafts / trenches of suitable design are ideal structures for rainwater harvesting in such areas. Central Ground Water Board is also providing free technical guidance for implementation of rooftop rainwater harvesting schemes.

iii) GROUNDWATER RELATED ISSUES & PROBLEMS The ground water development in the district, in general, is high when compared to many other districts in the state. 10 out of 15 blocks in the district have district have been categorized as either overexploited or critical. The trend analyes of historical ground water level data also indicate a long-term fall in a major part of the district. Based on the factors mentioned, it is inferred that a major part of the district could be considered vulnerable to various environmental impacts of the district could be considered vulnerable to various environmental impacts of water level depletion such as declining ground water levels, drying up of shallow wells and decrease in yield of bore wells. Incidence of fluriod in ground water in excess of permissible limits for drinking has been reported from parts of the district, especially from the fracture zone. Tamil Nadu Water supply and Drainage Board have provided a number of villages in the district with fluriod – free drinking water supplies. Excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture has also reportedly in localized enrichment of nitrate and other harmful chemical in the ground water, especially in the phreatic zone. Pollution of ground water due to Sago industry is also one of the issues in the district. The effluents from which have caused local pollution of surface and ground water resources.

iv) AREA NOTIFIED BY CGWA/SGWA Central Ground Water Authority has not notified any area in the district. vide G.O.No 53 has resitricted groundwater development for irrigation in the over exploited blocks of Tamil Nadu. The over exploited blocks in this district are as follow.

1. Erumapetti 6. Rasipuram 2. Namagiripettai 7. Sendamangalam 3. Namakkal 8. Vennandur 4. Pallipalayam 5. Puduchatram

5.0 GEOLOGY Namakkal district is mostly underlain by the Archaean crystalline and metamorphic complex. The geology of the district is complicated due to recurring tectonic and magmatic activities occurred during pre Cambrian period. The famous sithampoondi complex which is known for its complex geology is situated in this district. Gneisses are the oldest rocks in four taluk of the district. It is present widely in plains. The gneisses are highly weathered upto 30 m at some places. The charnockites are coarse grained and their colour is bluish dark to grey. They are massive and the second largest rock type present in the district. They are massive and less weathered than the gneisses. They exhibit 2 to 3 distanct set of joints and most of them are vertical with steep dips. Iron ore deposits associated with quartz feldspathic gneiss and garnetiferous quartz gneisses are present in some areas. These rocks are highly folded and jointed and less weathered. Calcite quartzites and crystalline limestone are exposed in patches in north and central parts of the district. The thickness of these bands to few metres to ten metres and the length extends to few kilometers. Massive and poorly jointed anorthosites bearing rocks are also found. They are associated with wide range of Chromite, Pyroxenite, Anthophyllite, Diopside, etc. There are number of basic intrusive of Dolerite dykes are found in some parts of the district. They are massive and jointed poorly. Thin veneer of alluvium is found along the course of the Cauvery and Thirumanimuthar. Howere, alluvium of river Thirumanimuthar and river Cauvery. Several faults and shears are occurring mostly with north east- south west trend. They are expected to influence the course of groundwater movement, its storage and developmental potentials in the district.

Dunities and Peridotites The rocks appear in the area of sithampoondi Villages of Namakkal, which are known. Charnockites occur as lenses within the ultramafic and hence it can be said that these intrusive are of post chanockite period. Dunite have undergone enormorus mineralogical chalcedony etc. magnesite occurs in the forms of the gneisses and are highly weathered and talc occurs at many places as economic deposits. The Talcschist, Flespathic- schist and Hornblede-schist formed by deformation of basic igneous rocks are also seen in a few places in study area. Pyroxenites Pyroxenites occur in rest and south of the sithampoondi, and also massively and poorly jointed in the Nagarmalai. Pyroxenites patches occur in one most of the place in the chalk hills. The contact between the pyroxenites and peridotites in not clearly identified. Dolerite Dykes and other Intrusives There are a number of basis dykes intruding in the country rocks. They are massive and running in NE-SW to NNE-SSW direction in general, parallel to the foliation direction and a few kilometers in length. Their contact with the country rock is sheared at many places. Granites and Syenites The granite and syenites are massive and poorly jointed. There are two pegmatite intrusions in the sithampoondi noticed and locally called as “WHITE ELEPHANT ROCK”.

Laterites The physical weathering and leaching in the flat-topped hillocks of have rise to Laterites rich is alumina. There are also a few pockets of bauxite in these hills. The weathering is 10 to 15m deep.

Alluvium and Talus There is a poor deposite of alluvium along the course of the Cauvery as it runs mostly on high land and rocky floor. So is the case with Tirumanimuttar River which also flows on rocky floor.

Anorthosite Sithampoondi village Tiruchengode blocks area cromite mineral, and corumdum, olivine dunite in the rock.

Limestone The crystalline variety of Limestone is manily available in this district in parts of Namakkal, Tiruchengode and paramthivelur Taluks. 1. High Limestone 2. Medium grade or soapstone is composed of Talc and stealite, which is a hydrated silicate of magnesium. It occurs in parts of .

Rocks and Minerals The Black Granite (dolerite) is a ferromagnesian mineral bearing rock; due to the presence of high specific gravity mineral in the rock type it has heavy weight and dark colours. In this District, only two leases were granted for Black Granite both leases are in currency, but not in operation. The Multicoloured Granite rocks are manily available in paramathivelur, Kabilarmalai areas. It is a light coloured, less weight rock 6 leases were granted to extract colour Granite. In this District, out of 6 leases, two leases are mainly functioning at present.

Gneisses The gneisses are perhaps the oldest rocks in the namakkal occurring widely in the plains. The general direction of foliation varies from E-W to ENE-SWW with a high magnitude dip towards north or south east. Segregated quartz- feldspathic and mafic layers give rise to banded structure at some places. The Gneisses by several Ultramafic and basic rocks parallel to the direction of foliation of the gneisses.

Charnockites The charnockites, Namakkal are thalamalai coarse-grained and bluish dark to grey in colour, have the second largest occupying area. They are exposed in the Sheveroys hills. Some of the Charnockites are garnetiferous and are massive and less weathered than the gneisses. They show two to three distinctsets of joints most of which are vertical with steep dips. Magnetite – Quartzites These rocks occur in the Valayapattilai Magnetite – quartzites are major non-ore deposits and are associated with quartzo-felspathic gneisses in the area. These rocks are highly and jointed. Bauxite (Aluminum ore) Bauxite is a hydroxide of aluminium. It occurs mainly in the kolli hills. The total reserves of Bauxite in Kolli hills have been estimated to be around 2.75 million tones. This ineral is available in a huge quantity on the Kolli hills. Magnasite Magnesium rich corbonate rocks are otherwise called as Magnasite. Inferior variety of Magnasite Mineral is a available in Seerappalli, and Sithampoondi Villages of paramathy velur Taluks and mangalamedu village in Rasipuram Taluk. Quartz and Feldspar Silica rich quartz and pottcesium Alumina and silica rich Feldspar minerals are available in this District in parts of Namakkal, Thiruchengode and Paramthy – velur Taluks. These types of minerals are mainly formed in the pegmatite band which is occurring in several villages of the above mentioned Taluks. At present, 25 mining leases for these minerals are in currency. Rough stone: The “Charnockite” and Granite Biotite gneiss rocks types of this District is mainly used for Roughstone. Gravel: It is a mineral, admixed with soil (hard soil produced by cerushing of loose rocks) and fragments of weathered (easily broken) rock pieces. It is mainly used for Road making and filling purpose. It is mainly available in all parts of the District. Brick Earth: This is reddish in colour, loose in nature it does not contain fragment of rock pieces etc pure reddish soil is mainly used for the purpose of Manufacturing of Bricks. It is mainly available in all parts the District. River Sand: The River sand is available only in River bed. In this District, in Cauvery River several strectch contains sand heaps. Joints in the area, with has experienced at least three district phase of the tectonic movement. Fold: The Salem – Namakkal fold Thrust Belt consists of number of low- angle south-dipping thrust sheets demarcated by ductile shear zones. In many places they have been steepened by refolding, along the L.kanavaipatti shear zone south of Namakkal. Mylonites are prominently developed in the foothills of Godumalai hill. These show kinematic indicators, mainly S-C fabrics, rotated porphyroclasts and intragranular faults, suggesting thrust-related tectonics with N to NE verging shear. However, in many instances the mylonites have undergone static recrystallisation. The mylonitisation is post-kinematic with granulite facies metamorphism. Peak granulite metamorphism has occurred during the F1 stage of folding, which is characterised by isoclinals folds developed in bedding, palnes, and represendted by BMQ layers in quartzofeldspatic gneisses. The F1 folds has produced penetrative gnessic fabrics and are coaxially refolded by open to tight upright F2 folds producing type 3 interference patterns. The F2 folds are accompanied by shear bands along the limbs that show mylonitisationed by shear bands along the limbs that show mylonitisation and rootless folds in quarzited bands. Thus it is interpreted 3 interfernce patterns. The F2 folds are accompanied by shear bands along the limbs that show mylonitisation and rootless folds in interpreted that the mylonitisation is synkinematic with F2 stage of folding. The mylonitic foliation has been refolded by F3 folds, which have probably removed the shear fabric to a large extent due static recrystallisation. The Sangakiri Shear Zone separates the Idapadi Block from the Salem Block. The shear zone shows dip towards north. The Salem Block shows the dominants of metagabbro/mafic granulites have been retrograded to amphibolites near Mallasamudram. The mylonitic foliation strickes NE-SW and dips toward E. The amphibolite shows nappe structure over the granite geneisses. The Kanjamalai shear zone near Kanjamalai hill takes an easterly trend. The mylonitic foliation shows NNW dip. The Udayapatti shear zone has an E-W strike and dips toward north. The Udayapatti development. The mylonitic foliations are E-W and dip north and contain down dip stretching lineation. The Umayalpuram shear zone shows the emplacement of syenite and the mylonitic foliation shows the southerly dip.The L.kanavaipatti shear zone is the southernmost shear zone. The mylonites it is quite evident that the finite strain varies from one block to another. In Salem thrust sheet the static crsytallisation is very prominent while the Namakkal thrust sheet retains the asymmetric fabric to a large extent.

Fault: A limited metamorphic study has been conducted on metagabbro/mafic granulites and from the namakkal Block. In Salem thrust the static crystallization is very prominent Salem thrust sheet the static crsytallisation is very prominent while the Namakkal thrust sheet retains the asymmetric fabric to a large extent. Several Faults and shears occurring in the study area. The major shears noted are along SE face of the shevaroys showing well marked strike-slip cleavage. Numbers of mylonite zones are found on the Western part of the rugumalai, 5km East of Salem, parallel to the Attur valley and cutting across the Kollihills and achamalai hills. The shears and fault are more in the eastern part of the namakkal, bounding the hills. Joints: The joint are well developed in the Charnockites, granites and ultra mafic and are moderately developed is other intrusive rocks. The major joints are vertical at places, showing step dips. There are a few joints trending parallel to the fold axis. Similar type joints with varying degree of dips and trends are found in the other parts of the study area. Lineaments: The lineament map of Namakkal district has been prepared from the LAND SAT and IRS imageries of scale 1:250000 by visual image interpretation. Groundwater occurrences in most of the boreholes, located in the lineaments, they are, NE-SW trending lineaments, they are, NE-SW trending lineaments. N-S trendinglineaments and NW-SE trending lineaments. Shear zone: The palght Cauvery shear zone is a major shear zone that possibly extends into fragments of Gondwanaland. In the present study mafic granulites occurring on either side of the CSZ in Namakkal area, southern India are examined.Textural features recorded in themaficgranulites are crucial in elucidating the metamorphic history of the southern granulite terrane. Textural and P-T study of rocks occurring on either side of the shear zone of the namakkal area has been attempted to understand its significance and relevance to the tectonic evolution of the area. The present study area is situated south of Namakkal comprising a segment in the eastern part of the CSZ. Here, the CSZ is marked by the presence of 2-3km wide E-W trending mylonitic gneisses, which are composed of augen shaped quartz and feldspar grains and also consist of mica and hornblende, situated on the northern bank of the Cauvery River. Mafic granulite and granite migmatites occur on the northern part of the CSZ while granitic gneisses constitute the southern part. Mafic granulites usually occur as variably sized enclaves within the granitic gneisses of the south. Hornblende biotite gneiss occurs as a thin band sub- parallel to CsZ in the northern part.

Slope Slope of an area is an indicator of the infiltrationrate. The contact period of water with with the surface is less where the slope is more and thereby the infiltration rate will be less. In places where the slope is relatively less, the terrain is almost plain and the contact of the run off water with surface is highand it results in good groundwater recharge. The contour map is prepared in 1:50000 scale from SOI topo sheets. TIN contour map is created from contour map.Based on the TIN map, slope map is prepared for the study area. The slope map of the study area reveals that the slope is high in hilly terrains which are present in north and east parts.