Rich heavy mineral - Kanyakumari

       

The Mineral Separation Plant at Manavalakurichi is the oldest plant of its kind. india. It is located 25km north of Kanyakumari at Manavalakurichi in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The plant has operated under various ownerships since 1910. Between 1965 and 1967, Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) procured all the mineral separation and recovery plants in India including the plant at Manavalakurichi. 

The plant mines and processes sand in the production of industrial minerals such as ilmenite, rutile, monazite, zircon, sillimanite, and garnet. The plant conducts dry mining of beach washings, which are then processed through wet gravity separation equipment. Through the separation process, heavy minerals are isolated using their individual specific gravity, electrical conductivity, magnetic susceptibility, and surface characteristics. In addition to mineral separation, the Manavalakurichi Plant is also home to a zirconium oxide plant that chemically treats zircon to form zircon frit (which is used by the Nuclear Fuel Complex to produce zircaloy components). Operations at Manavalakurichi have occasionally raised environmental protests from local fishermen.