Rajasthan: Within Rajasthan’s Sikar district, the government is considering establishing up an exploratory mining centre where over 14,000 tonnes of uranium ore deposits have been discovered.
Jitendra Singh, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, stated in a written reply in Lok Sabha that pre-project activities required for obtaining statutory clearances have been initiated by Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL).
He said, “as a part of this, the state government of Rajasthan has issued Letter of Intent (LOI) for granting of mining lease to UCIL.”
From the data distributed by Jitendra Singh, the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) found 8,813 tonnes of uranium oxide deposits in Rohil in Sikar district, 1,086 tonnes in Rohil west, 3,570 tonnes in Jahaz and 1,002 tonnes in Geratiyon ki Dhani.
AMD had also discovered 1,160 tonnes uranium oxide deposits at the Umra in Udaipur district.
“Mining technology and economics are important criteria which decide the exploitation and extraction status of a deposit like other mineral deposits,” Jitendra Singh said.
He also mentioned that total uranium ore deposits found in Rajasthan are 15,631 tonnes. 14,471 tonnes in Sikar district and 1,160 tonnes in Udaipur, adding that these deposits have been classified as “small deposits”.
AMD, a constituent unit of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), all over India has established 3,82,675 tonnes in situ U3O8 in 47 uranium deposits in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Singh said that currently, deposits at Jaduguda, Narwapahar, Bagjata, Bhatin, Banduhurang, Turamdih and Mohuldih in Jharkhand and Tummalapalle in Andhra Pradesh are under exploitation by UCIL.
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