Manganese is one of the most abundant elements present widely on the crust of Earth. We can use it in both forms, as of ore or ferromanganese. It is a hard substance and is brittle and generally occurs as a grey-silvery color substance. Presently used in huge amounts of steel-making industries and holds a lot of commercial value and metallurgical importance. Classifications of manganese ore are- ferruginous ore, siliceous ore, and dioxide manganese ore and manganiferous iron. Indian manganese ores are produced through metamorphose sediments available in the Gondite series of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Orissa whereas the Kodurite series are found in some states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.
In India, Madhya Pradesh is the leading producer of manganese and the state accounts for the total production of 27% in total followed by Maharashtra and Orissa with 25%. Other states such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujrat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Telangana are the rest of the manganese producing domains. The total quantity of manganese ore production in India is 23,93,182, with a net value of 1,602 crores.
India is one of the major importers of manganese across the world and according to the Indian Minerals Yearbook Record, it is reported that the total manganese ore reserves in the country have been approximately 495.87 million tonnes as per the NMI database system, UNFC.
PROCESS OF MINING AND ITS ILL EFFECTS ON NATURE
In India, manganese mining is generally carried out by two methods: open cast and underground. Opencast or mega-mining is a technique of extracting rock or minerals from an open-air pit. This process involves high capital investment as well as large equipment. Another applicable method is underground mining that produces little waste. The underground mines are in the form of a tunnel also known as an adit, decline or shaft. It proved this method to be harmful to nature as it releases toxic compounds into the air and water.
In total there are 142 functional manganese mines, 8 being underground mines out of which 5 are situated in Maharashtra and 3 in Madhya Pradesh. MOIL, a public sector company, is the principal producer and operates 11 mines that fulfil 50% of India’s manganese requirements. Balaghat, Bhandara and Nagpur are the epicenters for manganese ore production.
Mining activities have created an enormous burden on the environment and so forth has led to ecological imbalance. Manganese is a useful mineral and plays an integral part in uplifting the economy but holds great potential for toxicity for any living system and the environment as a whole. The outrageous amount of Manganese causes environmental contamination such as Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) and groundwater degradation, elevated levels of sediments in streams and tailing ponds. This practice of manganese mining results in degradation of soil quality and increased soil pH level, which altogether affects the fertility of the soil and reduces the rate of water penetration. Mining creates sinkholes and loss of biodiversity because of deforestation.
CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS AND PREVENTIVE MEASURES OPTED BY COMPANIES –
Moil carried out mass afforestation work and to date has sown 7,300 plant saplings to maintain the ecological balance ahead of that the company has projected wind energy farms and solar energy farms to produce renewable energy in Madhya Pradesh. Moil has received its clearance for an EC grant of 1.02 lakh MTPA. After availing clearance moil will set up its new mine that is 12th and the first underground mine since its launch.
The application for the grant is suspected to be 126.84 HA with an identified available depth of over 200 meters from the surface area. All the companies practicing mining needs to get an environmental clearance grant and have to satisfy needful conditions such as no forest shall be cleared for mining according to the forest conservation act of 1980, the companies have to submit their policies towards corporate environmental responsibility, no mining zones of 50 m shall be made to avoid waste being dumped within the safety zone, topsoil shall be conserved and stored and further used for land reclamation and plantation.
Written By- Jeet Sandhu
