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| India-Pakistan |
| 2004 tsunami enriched India with titanium |
| 2008-03-04 |
| NEW DELHI: The tsunami that hit south India in 2004 brought with it tons of titanium ore from the depths of the ocean. Titanium, a metal as strong as steel but much lighter, is resistant to extreme temperatures and corrosion. It is of great use in aeronautics, defence and atomic energy. India has 30% of the world’s reserves of titanium, said to be the metal of the future. Prithviraj Chavan, minister of state in the prime minister’s office, said the tsunami enhanced nearly 0.46 million tones of llmenite and 0.03 million tones of rutile in the known deposits of Chavara, Kerala. Both are titanium ores. Scientific reports say this could have happened “due to the churning on the deeper sediments of the onshore region or on the sediments entrapped in the near shelf region of the area, by the 6-metre-high tsunami waves”. The coastal segment, where a considerably rich beach “placer deposit” with 70% ilmenite is concentrated, was investigated to understand the impact of the tsunami. A placer deposit consists of valuable mineral or gemstone that accumulates in weathered rocks, stream sediments or in beach deposits as a result of natural weathering and erosion. Ores such as llmenite and rutile are known to exist at a depth of 10-15 metres on the seabed and the tsunami waves seem to have picked them up and dumped on the beach. India is yet to begin exploitation of these reserves. The government has allocated Rs99.50 crore to set up a 500-ton -per-year titanium sponge plant at Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (KMML), Kollam, based on the technology developed at Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), Hyderabad. The unit will make India the seventh country to produce titanium sponge. Only Japan, America, Russia, China, Kazakhstan and Ukraine have the technology at present. At KMML, it will be manufactured through a technology developed by DMRL. The beach sand mineral sector has been liberalised and the private sector is being encouraged to set up titanium extraction plants. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #5 great, thx for the ear worm, DB |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-03-04 21:40 |
| #4 What about Magneto and The Crimson Dynamo? |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2008-03-04 21:08 |
| #3 India has 30% of the worldÂ’s reserves of titanium, said to be the metal of the future. Which is why in the business they call it... futuranium. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2008-03-04 10:48 |
| #2 Its already started to cause a row between INDIA + former province BANGLADESH as to mining and other collection rights. The Bengalis + Govt. are worried about nation's natural disappearance vv GLOBAL WARMING since their mostly poverty-stricken nation is at sea-level, besides suffering terribly from quakes and floods. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-03-04 00:40 |
| #1 You're welcome... |
| Posted by: Halliburton: Earthquake/Tsunami Division 2008-03-04 00:16 |