Mali Parbat bauxite mine

In News: Public hearing on the environment clearance (EC) for Mali Parbat Bauxite Mining by Hindalco Industries in Korapaut on January 7, 2023 was presided over by the district judicial officer.

• Around 2,000 people from the local communities attended the hearing on January 7 and 80-90 of them raised objections to granting EC to Hindalco. Around 90 per cent of the people from the local communities opposed the EC.

Mali Parbat Bauxite mine:

• It is located in Pottangi tehsil of Koraput district of Odisha.
• The bauxite mined out from the Maliparbat mine will be used in existing Hindalco’s Alumina refineries located at Renukoot (Uttar Pradesh), Muri (Jharkhand) & Belgaum (Karnataka).
• Some rivers near the mine are Kukurhaghat Nala, Kunduli Nala and Kolab River.
• Hindalco Industries is one of the leading producers of aluminium in the country. The company business involves bauxite mining to alumina refining.
• Hindalco Industries was granted EC for an area of 268.110 hectares of Maliparbat bauxite mine in 2006.

Bauxite mining in India:

• India is rich in bauxite reserves – 3,896 million tonnes as in 2015.
• About 77% resources are of Metallurgical grade.
• There were 157 reporting mines in 2016-17 out of which 56 are major mines.
• The share of Public Sector mines was about 31 % of the total production in 2016-17
• Many indigenous and tribal people live near the mines, which shows the quantity of bauxite in India.

What is Bauxite?

• The raw material of aluminium is known as bauxite ore.
• It is generally found in the region close to laterite rocks.
• Laterite rocks are commonly found in the peninsular and coastal regions – plateaus and hill ranges.

Uses of bauxite ore:

• Bauxite is used as a primary ingredient in making aluminium – It consists of 80% of bauxite. It is used to convert into aluminium and make aluminium products.
• It is also used as a corrector. In the case of any dent or damage, bauxite ore is used in the steel industry to repair the damage.
• Bauxite is also used in the industries of rubber, water purifying machines, plastic, paper making, etc.

The distribution of Bauxite ore in India :

• Bauxite ore is mainly found in the peninsular, coastal and hill ranges.
• Odisha (51%)
• Andhra Pradesh (16%)
• Gujarat (9%)
• Jharkhand (6%)
• Maharashtra (5%)
• Chhattisgarh
• Tamil Nadu
• Madhya Pradesh
• Odisha is the largest bauxite ore-producing state.
• The popular mines of bauxite lie in Odisha’s districts of Sambalpur, Kalahandi, Sundargarh etc.
• There are two famous bauxite ore mines in Odisha – Panchpatmali mines and Gandha Mardan

Source: DTE