Heavy Mineral Mining Around the World

Heavy minerals are found on the surface of the earth in many parts of the world. Particularly in countries like U.S., South Africa, Australia, India, Sri Lanka and Canada. They are called heavy minerals because their specific gravity is higher than other elements found on the surface of earth. 

They are economically very beneficial as they are useful in many industrial applications. Because of their higher specific gravity, they tend to mount up at coastal belts of rivers and beaches in the form of placer deposits. Major minerals that come in the heavy minerals category include Zircon, Garnet, Rutile, Ilmenite, Leuocoxene, and Titanium. The wave actions deposits the minerals on the surface of sand, and these can be extracted through the process of mining.

Once the mining process is complete the minerals can be isolated from the sand using various separation processes like dry gravity separation or magnetic separation and others. The current heavy mineral industry around the world has shown prosperity in places like Murray Basin, Golden Grove and Kangaroo Island in South Australia. India is also well known in the heavy mineral mining industry. 

One of the premier companies that indulge in heavy mineral mining is V.V. Mineral. They are India’s biggest mining, manufacturers and exporters of Garnet. They have been awarded as the ‘Number One Garnet Exporters’ of our country. They also undertake Zircon mining, Rutile mining and Ilmenite mining.

India has abundant reserves in places such as Gulf of Mannar, Kanyakumari, Tuticorin and Kerala. In South Africa, places with great deposits of heavy minerals include, Imperri Hills, Madagascar. Quebec in Canada is also has plentiful of these mineral deposits.