International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 6, Issue 2, February 2016 68 ISSN 2250-3153 Gypsum: Resources of Bikaner and New Prospective Areas Rajat Bhardwaj Research Scholar, Dept. of Geology,Govt. Dungar College, M.G,.S.U., Bikaner-334003(Raj). Abstract- Gypsum is a naturally occurring mineral produced in 13 million tonnes of soil reclamation grade and the rest is many parts of the India and the world. Chemically it is hydrated unclassified. The total recoverable reserves of all grades of calcium sulfate. The chemical formula for pure gypsum is gypsum in Rajasthan are of the order of 105.5 million tonnes. Ca(SO4)•2(H2O). In the chemically pure form, gypsum contains With few exceptions, gypsum in India occurs mostly in thin beds, 23.28% calcium (Ca) and 18.62% sulfur (S) in the readily veins, lenses and as isolated clusters of crystals in various available sulfate form (SO4). However, the typical gypsum formations. Anhydrite, a common associate of gypsum has not sources that are commercially available for agricultural often been noticed in the known gypsum deposits in India. contain impurities which result in a Ca level between 16%-23% However , 99% of Total Indian Production of natural Ca and 15%-19%.Rajasthan produces 99% of the total mineral Gypsum is from Rajasthan only.In which major production dist. Gypsum production in India. And most promising depostis are Bikaner, Sri-Ganganagar and Nagaur. They vary in thickness occurs in Bikaner Distt. As demand is increasing so there is need from a few inches to 10 ft. and over. Reserves have been roughly for prospecting new promising areas of Gypsum/Gypsite . This estimated to exceed 40 million tons. research paper would help in meeting the increasing demand of natural Gypsum with the search of new deposits in Bikaner Uses: Distt.It would also help in generating revenues to the Govt. It is an essential constituent of cement, though its proportion is only 4-5 per cent. It is also used in making plaster of Paris, Index Terms- Mineral Gypsum, new deposits, prospecting moulds in ceramic industry, nitrogen chalk, partition blocks, works. sheets, tiles, plastics, etc. It is conveniently applied as surface plaster in agriculture for conserving moisture in the soil and for aiding nitrogen absorption. Gypsum had many uses in addition to I. INTRODUCTION agriculture. A partial lis of producs and processes that use ypsum is a hydrated sulphate of calcium which occurs as gypsum includes blackboard chalk, cemen, wall board, Plaster of G white opaque or transparent mineral in beds in Thar desert paris , dental moulds , paint filler, toothpaste, molds for casting of Rajasthan in India. Such deposits are seen in Bikaner area. metals, Tofu coagulation , improving mineral content of brewing Except this it also occurs in bands in sedimentary formations water, dietary calcium additives in breads and cereals , and such as limestones, sandstones and shales. In some cases it pharmaceuticals. occurs as transparent crystals associated with clays (Gothmanglod deposits of Nagaur). II. GEOLOGY OF BIKANER Distribution:- Topographically sediments of Bikaner basin are elongated Gypsum deposits are known to exist in several parts of in shape and occurs in two distinctly separated areas separated by India. The more well-known gypsum-bearing regions are in an aranaceous high of Marwar Super gp. Origin. The Tertiary Rajasthan and in South India, but smaller deposits occur also in sequence contains sediments of continental and marine origin Tehri-Garhwal, Himachal Pradesh and parts of western India. deposited over the Neoproterozoic Nagaur Group ( Marwar Sup. The latter have not been fully explored yet. Northern India-Small Gp.) of rocks.It is represented by the Palana , Marh and Jogira deposits of gypsum as pockets and thin beds are also known to Formations in ascending order having conformable contacts. It is occur in the Dehra Dun, Nainital and Tehri-Garhwal regions of bound on the north and south by East-West treding faults and Uttar Pradesh. The reserves are estimated at about 200,000 tons. marked by casement hights at Dulmera and adjoining areas. Among the other deposits are those in the Sirmur district of The Bikaner basin or the Palana – Ganganager shelf , is an East- Himchal Pradesh, which are estimated to contain about 1 million West treding elongated basin extending for about 200 kms, witht tons, and small deposits in Bhutan, Kashmir and Rewa (Vindhya a maximum width of about 50 kms in north-surth direction.The Pradesh) for which no estimates of the reserves are available. basin preserves Palana and Sri Ganganagar embayments , Gypsum in veins and thin beds and as crystals distributed in enclosed eastwards, connecting with the Indus basin.The entire sedimentary strata is also found in Saurashtra and Kutch. The area is under thick wind-blown sand cover of Thar desert. reserves are estimated at 6.4 million tons. The in situ reserves of gypsum are estimated at 383 million tonnes. Out of this two million tonnes are of surgical/plaster grade, 92 million tonnes of fertilizer/pottery grade, 76 million tonnes of cement/paint grade, www.ijsrp.org International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 6, Issue 2, February 2016 69 ISSN 2250-3153 III. GENERAL STRATIONGRAPHY OF BIKANER Carbonaceous Facies) BASIN ~~~~~~~~~~ Base not encountered ~~~~~~~~~ AGE FORMATION Tertiary formation of Bikaner Nagaour basin ( After Ghose, Pleistocene to Recent Kolayat Formation 1983 a). ~~~~~~~~~~ Unconformity~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *The formation had been described to be of Early Eocene ( Early to Middly Eocene Jogira Formation ( Calcareous Bhandari, 1999). Facies) ** The Formation has been described to be of Eocene ( La ~~~~~~~~~~ Angular Unconformity ~~~~~~~ Touche, T.D. 1897; Rao and Vimal, 1952). *Late Paleocene (?) Marh Formation ( Arenaceous Facies) IV. TECTONO-SRATIOGRAPHY OF BIKANER BASIN **Early Paleocene ( ?) Palana Formation ( Tectono Formation Depositional Geological Age Depositional Thickness in (m) Enviornment System Pleistocene - Quartenary Alluvium (80-85) Shallow Water Recent Paleocene- Palana & Marh Tertiary Shallow Marin Eocnene Formation (20-110) Upliftment Parh Eqy. Fm (30- Cretaceous Clastic 35) Dominant Terrestrial Lathi Eqy. Fm ( 290- System Jurrassic Mesozoic 380) Bap & Badhura Fm ( Permo-Triassic Fluvio - Glacial 55-65) Up. Carbonate Cambrian Transgressive Marine Post rift Fm.(250-600) Clastic Paleozoic Nagaur Fm (150- Carbonate Marginal Marin Clastic 190) System Hanseran Evaportite Intertidal Evaporite Syn rift Fm ( 160-150) Clastic Infra Cambrian Transgressive Marine Proterozoic Bilara Fm.(50-55) Carbonate Jodhpur Fm(25-35) Fluvia System Pre-Cambrian Malani Ign. Suite Volcanism industry. As result, there is enormous need to explore new V. GYPSUM DEMAND AND SUPPLY deposits of natural gypsum. The Principal consumer of mineral Gypsum is construction On the basis of these projected cement production growth sector. Construction Industry in India is increasing with the figures, as per the base line, India´s cement industry will be avege growth of 11% per annum .Cement is the primary requiring over 428 million tonnes of gypsum during the next 15 requirement of this Sector. With the increase in GDP the years against the local gypsum resources (natural and as by- investment in Infrastructure in India increased and as the demand product) of around 115 million tonnes, which means India of Cement Increased the demand of natural Gypsum also depends on over 313 million tonnes of gypsum through imports. increased. Natural gypsum will remain the primary source of cement The cement industry in India is continuously growing. commodity for decades to come. There is presently no substitute According to various research reports and in view of the for gypsum in the production of cement. In Rajasthan there were upcoming massive infrastructure developments, the Indian 33 reporting mines during the year as against 38 in the preceding cement consumption is expected to increase at a rate of 9-11 % year. Two principal producers i.e RSMML and FAGMIL per year. The rising costs of raw materials like gypsum and coal together accounted for about 99% of the total production of have been playing a heavy strain on the cement and construction gypsum.Five mines producing above 2 lakh tonnes annually contributed 70% of total production, 2 mines producing between one to two lakh tonnes contributed 9% of the total production, 3 www.ijsrp.org International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 6, Issue 2, February 2016 70 ISSN 2250-3153 mines producing between 50 thousand tonnes to 1 lakh tonnes cement sector had started moving towards the alternate sources contributed 7% of total production, 15 mines producing between as well as starting importing their requirement. This imports are 10 thousand to 50 thousand tonnes accounted for 13% of total creating negative impacts on the Indigenous mines and inducing Production of natural Gypsum is on decreasing Trend by 11 % economic losses to Indian natural Gypsum producers.So there is per year against it the demand of Gypsum is increasing.The need to find out new promising areas as well as to find the major deficit in the production of natural gypsum is due to in buyer’s of low grade natural Gypsum. consistent quality of natural gypsum.Due to this inconsistency Table:5.1 Production of Gypsum in India ( data of 1951 to 2015) Year 1951 1961 1971 1981 1990-91 2000-01 2002-11 2012-15 Production 33 14 in’000 207 866 1,089 957 15,89 12,586 million million (MT) ( MT) (MT) Chart:-5.1 Showing Growth in demand of Natural Gypsum In India: MINERAL GYPSUM OCCURRENCE IN BIKANER: Total 34 mining leases of Mineral Gypsum are existing in Bikaner is known for its Gypsum deposits all over India. the Distt. out of which 11 ML’s are of Rajasthan Govt. or Central Out of 8 Tehsils of Bikaner ,4 tehsils are having the deposits of Govt. ownership rest of the 23 Mining Leases are of Private natural Gypsum.