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Writer's pictureNiaz Murshed Chowdhury

Present Scenario of Mineral Resources in Bangladesh: A Compact Analysis (part 2)


 


Oil:The only oilfield of the country has been discovered at Haripur in 1986 that is located in near Haripur in the eastern hilly district of Sylhet, but these have yet to be developed. The Haripur reserves are estimated at 40 Mbbl, with a recoverable reserve of about 6 million barrels and the total resource is likely to be much higher. For meeting the total requirement of commercial energy, Bangladesh imports yearly about 1.3 million metric Tons of crude oil.Coal:As well natural gas, Bangladesh has significant coal reserve. Coal first discovered in the country by Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) in 1959 was at great depth. geological survey of Bangladesh (GSB) continued its efforts for exploration that resulted in the discovery of 4 coalfields. BHP Minerals, a US-Australian company, discovered a field in 1997 totalling 5 coalfields. Coal reserves of about 3.3 billion tons comprising 5 deposits at depths of 118-1158 meters have been discovered so far in the north-western part of Bangladesh. The name of these deposits are-Barapukuria, Phulbari and Dighipara coal field in Dinajpur district, Khalashpir in Rangpur district and Jamalganj in Joypurhat district. Out of which 4 deposits (118-509 meters) are extractable at present. As an alternative fuel to natural gas, coal can be extensively used. The depth of Jamalganj coal deposit is 640-1158 meter with 1053 Million Tones in-situ coal reserve where production may not be viable by present day’s technology due to the depth of the deposits. Possibilities of extraction of Coal Bed Methane (CBM) need to be explored from this coal deposits. Government is actively reviewing law to be applicable for Exploration and Production of Coal Bed Methane. So far, only Barapukuria coal field is under production. . Details of the coalfields and quality of the coal are shown below. The development of underground Barapukuria Coal Mine, one of the five fields, started in June 1996, which was scheduled to be completed in May 200l, but due to some changes in mine design it will take some more time. Exploitable coal reserve of Barapukuria is 64 million ton and annual production has been estimated to be I million ton A power station will be set up with a capacity of 300 MW using this coal. BHP Minerals have discovered the Phulbari coalfield in January 1997. The right has later been transferred to an Australian company, Asia Energy Corporation (AEC), to develop the mine. AEC is now working for a detailed feasibility study for open-pit mine development whose initial annual production will be 2.9 million ton that will later be 9 million ton. Coal imported from India, China, and Indonesia is mainly consumed in brickfields both in public and private sectors, and in small industries. White Clay: White Clay occurs in Sherpur, Netrokona, Dinajpur and Chittagong district etc. and it is used to make crockery’s, sanitary materials, insulator and tiles.in addition, it is also used in Paper, cement and sugar industries. There are surface to near surface deposits of white clay in Bijoypur and Gopalpur area of Netrokona district, Nalitabari of Sherpur district, Haidgaon of Chittagong district and BaitulIzzat of Satkaniaupazila, Chittagong district. Besides, there are subsurface deposits of white clay in Maddhyapara, Barapukuria, Dighipara of Dinajpur district and Patnitala of Naogaon district. The showing white clay is not good in quality that is used in the ceramic factories of Bangladesh after mixing with high quality imported clay. White clay, Netrokona Glass sand:Important deposits of glass sand of the country are at Balijuri (0.64 million ton), Shahjibazar (1.41 million ton) and Chauddagram (0.285 million ton) at or near the surface, Maddhyapara (17.25 million ton) and Barapukuria (90.0 million ton) below the surface. Glass sands consist of fine to medium, yellow to grey quartz. Total deposit is about 109.58 M ton. Glass sand is used to make crockery’s, lenses, glass sheet of windows and doors. It is further used to make quartz clock, frame of boat and aero plane, foam glass and in various electronic equipments etc. Silicon chips are also made from silica, which is a main ingredient of glass.There are two types of glass sand according to geological status.1. Recent piedmont alluvium in the eastern zone.2. Underground glass sand in the northern zone.. Glass sand, Comilla (Chauddagram) Limestone:It occurs in Sunamgonj, Takergat, Jahanpur, Paranagor, Joypurhat and St. Martin’s Islands. Limestone is a very important mineral resource for Bangladesh. It is primarily used in cement industry. Limestone is used to make lime and cement and in paper, Ispat, sugar, glass industry. It is also used to decorate the building In Bangladesh limestone is found in Taker Ghat, Lalghat and Bangli Bazar of sylhet area, Jaypurhat and Saint-mertine of Cox’s Bazar district. The lime stone of Takerghat limestone mining project is supplied to Chattak Cement Factory. In the early 1960s, a quarry of limestone of Eocene age with a small reserve at Takerghat in the north eastern part of the country started supplying raw materials to a cement factory.In 1960s GSB discovered a new limestone deposit in Joypurhat at a depth of about 515-541m below the surface with a total reserve of 100 million ton. In the mid 1990s GSB discovered limestone deposit at a depth of 493-508 and 531-548m below the surface at Jahanpur and Paranagar of Naogaon respectively. Thickness of these deposits is 16.76m and 14.32m respectively. Ilmenite, Garnet, Zircon, Kyanite, Magnetite, Rutile, Leucoxine, Monazite:All these are found in Cox’s Bazar and Teknaf Beach, Kuakata Beach , Moheshkhali, Nijhum dwip, Kutubdia and Monpura Island. Ilmenite, Rutile and Leucoxine are used to make slag and in welding and in melting of metal. They are used as a dyeing subject and Refractory Brick. Ilmenite is used to make sand blasting and heavy mud as an alternative to Barite in drilling activities. Titanium metal, which is derived from this mineral, is used to make frame of aeroplane, missile, and in chemical reaction and salt removal process. Zircon is used to make foundry sand, Refractory brick and as a dyeing substance. Zirconium is used as a radioactive substance.Monazite is used to make catalyst, television tube, refractory substance, thermal insulator substance and in computer disk and line printer. Peat:Deposits of peat occur at shallow depths in different low-lying areas of Bangladesh likeGopalganj, Madaripur, Khulna, Sylhet and Sunamganj district etc. the reserve of dry peat is about 170 million tons. In 1953, a large scale of peat was discovered at Baghia-Chanda Bil in Faridpur and at Kola Monja in Khulna. The major deposits are in greater in the districts of Faridpur (150 million tons), Khulna (8 million tons). Peat requires drying before making briquettes for use as fuel. It is used as an alternative fuel to household, in brick and lime industries and in thermal power plant, and it requires drying before making briquettes for use as fuel. Petrobangla implemented a pilot project for extraction of peat and making briquettes but the result were discouraging and not economically feasible at current stage. PeatTable Peat deposits and quality Source Asian Mining Year Book (Seventh Edition), 2001Hard Rock:It occurs at Maddyapara in Dinajpur district and has been discovered by GSB (Geological Survey of Bangladesh) at depth 132-160 m below the surface. The Rock Quality Designation (RQD) of fresh rock varies from 60% to 100%. The Maddhayapara project is extended over a wide range of area, from Baborgonj and Mithapukur of Rangpur district to Fulbari and Parbatipur of Dinajpur district and its capacity to recover 1.65 million ton hardrock every year. It is used in construction such as road, highway, and railway track, regulator dam, river training, and river bank erosion. It is also used as construction material and as mosaic stone. . Hard Rock, Dinajpur Gravel Deposit:Deposits of gravel are found along the piedmont area of Himalyas in the northern boundary of Bangladesh. It occurs in Lalmonirhat, Panchagar, Sylhet district, Greater Chittagong and Chittagong Hill Tracts. These river borne gravels come from the upstream during the rainy season. It is used to construct buildings, road, railway, bridge and in river training and flood control. A total reserve of gravel is about 10 million cubic meters. Metallic minerals:GSB has carried out investigation for mineral deposits and succeeded in locating a few potential zones. Relatively high content of metallic minerals like chalcopyrite, bornite, chalcocite, covelline, galena, sphaleriteetc have been found in the core samples from the north-western region of the country. Construction Sand:It is very much available in the river beds through out the country. Sand consists mostly of quartz of medium to large grains. It is extensively used as construction materials for buildings, bridge, roads all over the country. Beach Sand:This may be potential source in the future. Deposits of beach sand have been identified in the coastal belt, and in the coastal island in Bangladesh. Deposits of beach sand have been identified in the coastal belt and in the coastal islands of Bangladesh. Different heavy minerals and their reserves (in ton) are: Zircon (158,117), Rutile (70,274), Ilmenite (1,025,558), Leucoxene (96,709), Kyanite (90,745), Garnet (222,761), Magnetite (80,599) and Monazite (17,352). An Australian company has applied for the permission to carry out the feasibility study for exploitation Brick Clay:In Bangladesh the mineralogical, chemical and engineering properties of Pleistocene and Holocene brick clays of Dhaka, Narayanganj and Narsingdi districts are well documented. The bulk chemistry and engineering properties of the Holocene and Pleistocene samples have been found satisfactory for manufacturing good quality bricks. These are being exploited and widely used in the country. Black Gold:Black gold is a very valuable mineral resource. Among it, the main are zircon, monazite, riotile etc. It is discovered in Cox’s Bazar sea beach.



*Reserves are in million tones except that of gravel which is in million cubic metre. **Reserves have not yet been estimated.

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