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Dholkata Bauxite Deposit on Metavolcanics, Keonjhar District, Orissa, India
Author(s) -
Nayak Bijaya Ketana,
Das Subir Kumar
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
resource geology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.597
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1751-3928
pISSN - 1344-1698
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-3928.2005.tb00226.x
Subject(s) - bauxite , gibbsite , laterite , goethite , geology , hematite , limonite , weathering , geochemistry , kaolinite , quartz , mineral , mineralogy , nickel , metallurgy , materials science , paleontology , chemistry , organic chemistry , adsorption
. The Dholkata bauxite deposit of Keonjhar district, Orissa, has developed on the metavolcanics of tholeiitic basalt composition. The weathered profile reveals five distinct altered zones, such as topsoil, laterite, bauxite, lithomarge and altered metavolcanics. The mineralogy of different zones studied in a representative pit shows the association of major mineral constituents like gibbsite, goethite, hematite, kaolinite, limonite and quartz. Gibbsite is the most dominant one followed by goethite and hematite in the bauxite zone. The geochemical study of all weathering zones indicates the geochemical affinity of the elements Ni, Th and U for laterites and Cr, Zr and Hf for bauxites to occur in high quantities. Trend surface maps predict the bauxite zones in the different levels of the deposit. If the zones having A1 2 O 3 35–40 % are blended with high grade ores, the deposit may prove to be a potential one.