Andhra Pradesh is fast emerging as the front-runner in exploration and production of Beach Sand Minerals (BSM) that are abundantly available in the north coastal districts of Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam, and to some extent in the southern parts of the State, with the total deposits pegged at 59.56 Million Tonnes (MT).

As on date, 6.68 MT of BSM deposits (three in number) spread in 991 hectares, two of them in Gara mandal of Srikakulam district and the other in Bheemunipatnam mandal of Visakhapatnam district, are under development by the AP Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC).

According to official sources, seven deposits spread in 6,034 hectares and aggregating to 12.82 MT have been approved by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

These deposits include beach and river sands, located in Gara, Etcherla and Ranasthalam mandals in Srikakulam district, Nakkapalli, Kakinada, Mogalthuru and Narsapuram in West Godavari, and Urlagonditippa in Krishna district.

In addition to these, the APMDC has identified BSM in Vajrapukotthuru, Santhabommali and Bhavanapadu mandals of Srikakulam district, Pusapatirega (Vizianagaram), Machilipatnam, and Sakhinetipalli, Allavaram, Mamidikuduru and Malkipuram mandals in Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district.

The total estimated quantity is 40.06 MT spread in 9,746 hectares. These BSM deposits include substantial quantities of thorium, which is primarily used in nuclear power reactors, and ilmenite.

Andhra Pradesh has the largest reserves of rutile (composed mainly of titanium dioxide) at 10.60 MT and monazite 3.80 MT, and its ilmenite reserves are the second largest at 156.20 MT. Zircon, garnet and sillimanite are the other BSM found along the coast in relatively smaller quantities.

As the demand for monazite is increasing by leaps and bounds, largely due to its use in the manufacturing of rare earth permanent magnets, which are extremely crucial for scaling up electric mobility, in the renewable energy sector and as a nuclear fuel, the APMDC is looking to exploit it commercially to the extent and at the earliest possible.

With 211 MT, Andhra Pradesh stands in the second place, accounting for 25% of the nearly 838 MT of BSM deposits in India. Tamil Nadu is in the No.1 position with 231 MT of deposits and Odisha has 191 MT, Kerala 170 MT and others 36 MT.